


Prophetstuck

by polluxcastor



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-05
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2017-11-15 17:14:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 32,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/529644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polluxcastor/pseuds/polluxcastor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an AU revolving around the psiioniic and his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

In the shelter of the dark night, lit dimly by the millions of stars, a grub was born under the Gemini constellation. Here, in the dark caverns, only lit by small glowing lanterns was life first started. Along with hundreds of other grubs varying in shape, size, and color were pushed forth down the cavern by the jade blooded servants, until their eggs hatched open and six little black legs crawled forth into the dim light. It was here that they began their journey to the surface, crawling and wriggling over one another until they broke free, surrounded by hundreds of white beasts waiting to pick their grubs. 

As the initial line grew shorter and shorter, our small yellow hatching with two distinctly colored eyes was left standing alone. His small black talons clacked against the stones, looking frantically for someone who would take him in. The Lusii around him mumbled in hushed tones around them, looking towards the small feeble child.

Before long, a tall Byclops walked towards the tiny creature, scooping it into his giant hand before storming off. The yellow grub looked up at his new parental figure, giving a soft squeak before settling down in the warmth of its hand. Together they would grow and find a suitable place to build a hive.

The grub was brought up with a simple name, named after the stars his Lusus found him under. Pollux Castor.  
They were the two largest stars in the sky that night that he crawled from the caverns. Byclops had thought it was a rather ingenious name, and Pollux himself even seemed to like it. It was fitting for his class. A yellow shell usually meant this grub was a yellow blood. Byclops wasn’t too smart, but he knew that much at least. His eyes meant he was special. That much was given. 

As sweeps passed, Pollux grew. As did his abilities. Soon the wriggler at just 3 sweeps old, was able to lift himself into the air, holding onto building materials. He giggled, sending himself flying into the air, putting blocks down on his hive. Byclops hunted as best as he could, getting food for the young one and himself. With his size, he could crush beasts beneath his feet. The food was scarce in the desert, as were many things, but that couldn’t be helped.

The young psionic would mumble things to his lusus. The boy found it troublesome to speak. He was mutated, and his tongue was split. It caused his speech to be slightly hindered and he preferred to write in the sand of the desert than to try and fumble through his words, avoiding the ones that contained the letter S. 

This was a futile effort though. Byclops couldn’t read.

It was on the 11th night of the 6th perigree of the 4th Alternian sweep of Pollux Castor’s life that everything changed.


	2. Chapter 2

Blood.

There was blood everywhere. Pollux had never seen so much blood. A bag had been placed over his head as he felt his stomach lurch. He fought off the urge, cringing and whimpering at the tugging on his limbs and mind. He sparked his powers, which alerted his attackers. They pinned him to the ground and ripped the bag off his head. 

“I knew he’d fight back.” One man said, brushing his hair from his face, an angry sneer on his features. 

“Give him the shit.” Another said. Pollux looked around, eyes wide. He felt a hand over his mouth. His psionics flared out, reaching, grabbing onto anything he could. Before he could do anything, his mouth was pried open and a sticky, gooey substance was poured into his mouth.

“That’ll shut him up.”  
...And it did. The liquid tasted horrible. It was thick and gummy, and he fought to spit it out, it was impossible. It stuck to the sides of his mouth as they watched him struggle to swallow it.

“Man, they said it’d do it. It’s true. Get the bag back on him. We don’t have much time left. C’mon or we don’t get paid!”

Pollux screamed and squirmed, his nails tearing at whatever he could get a hold on. He didn’t want to go. He had seen them hurt his lusus...the one thing he loved. The only thing he had ever known. He flailed his arms about, fighting the restraints. He tried to tap into his powers....

Nothing happened.

His eyes went wide, looking at the men with frightened, nervous glances.

“Guess the gel shit actually works. Who whoulda thought....” 

Pollux felt a bitter feeling rise in his throat. The young wriggler fought back tears. The bag was placed over his head again and he was tossed into some mechanical device. He whimpered, feeling metal jab against his ribs. He spat, feeling whatever was in his mouth come loose, spilling into the bag. The gel left his mouth tingling, feeling dry. He coughed before screaming as loud as he could. He flailed around, kicking and screaming. His foot hit something, and a soft voice whimpered back. 

“Stop.” It simply said. Pollux hesitated, crying harder now, tears streaming down his pale cheeks. This isn’t what he wanted. This wasn’t it at all.

He felt the ground beneath him give a steady roar as the engine of the machine sprung to life, heading through the desert, kicking sand up into the air. He smelled it, coughing and spluttering against the bag, curling into a tight ball. 

No one was there to comfort him. His lusus wasn’t there to pat him on the back and tell him it was okay in the only way he knew how. He already missed the soft grumblings of his giant bipedal caretaker. He couldn’t stop replying the scene in his head. He cringed at the bitter thought. 

There had simply been so much blood. 

Pollux secretly wished whatever was to become of him would make his lusus proud, no matter how utterly painful his death had been.

 

It wasn’t long before the truck came to a grumbling stop, the engine quickly being turned off. Pollux opened his eyes, still seeing the dim light of the stars and the two moons through the sheen of the bag. He sniffed, shifting his weight so he could sit up. He was grabbed quickly, thrown over someone’s shoulder. He didn’t struggle. Instead, he laid still, acting as if he were asleep. The thing that carried him let out a disgraceful snort as it set him down, the bag being roughly lifted off his head, his hands and legs being unbound. 

When Pollux opened his eyes, he didn’t expect to see what he saw.

The young psionic looked around. The room was filled with others like him. Young and middle aged filled the room from wall to wall. They sat in rows by age. The youngest were in the front, oldest closest to the walls. The building was small and square. There was a door at both ends, leading to unknown destinations. 

“Why have we been brought here?!” A middle aged boy asked, his eyes narrow. Shouts and screams echoed in the room, a few young ones crying. Pollux rubbed his nose as a very strong, powerful looking man walked to the front of the room, standing by everyone. Several others stood by, their eyes dark and narrow, their postures looming.

“Silence!!” He shouted. The entire room went quiet, “Good. Now listen up. All of you fucking wrigglers have been brought here for a reason. Psionics, pissbloods, as you all should be aware, are in one of the lowest castes on Alternia. Here, starting tonight, you will all fulfill your roles in this caste by starting your training. If you’re lucky, a nice master will come and pick you to be their personal slave. If you aren’t lucky, you’ll die.” A few protesters stood, shouting and arguing that this wasn’t right.

“SILENCE!”

A loud boom was heard, and everyone quickly quieted themselves, most of the young ones sniffling, tears quietly running down their cheeks.

“Any others who voice insolence will be taken outside and executed publicly. Have I made myself clear?” Several nodded, “Good. Now listen up. Everyone will be divided into groups. These groups will go out at set times and train. Until then, everyone is to sit still and quiet. Anyone who causes a scene will be taken out back. Do not take this threat lightly.” The man growled and walked through the door in the back. People began whispering, looking around with wide eyes. Pollux sniffed, rubbing at his nose again, blinking his eyes. People were staring at him. Everyone here had normal eyes.....two that looked exactly the same. He had seen his eyes in the reflection of the water they had collected once. It was strange. He asked his lusus about it, and he just shrugged it off like nothing had been said. Pollux never wondered about it after that.

Groups of people were called out to stand from different corners of the room. One by one they filed out into that back room. Pollux figured it was another part of the building. Some time passed and the youngest group was called forth. They stood in a single line, walking towards the back door. One by one they were given a number. Pollux walked just past the door way. A hand was placed on his head.  
“222. Remember that number.” He was ushered forward, eyes following the troll in front of him. One by one they were taken down into the depths of the building.

Down the ramp all the psionics went, leading to the massive underground training facility. All the teams went their separate ways, taking different corridors to different areas. Pollux couldn’t help but glance around, looking up at the metal infrastructures and high vaulted ceiling. The youngest group was taken to a room decorated in shades of blue and red. Pollux liked this room.

“This is the nursery. This is where you’ll be staying until you reach 5 sweeps. You will return here every morning after training with your elder master and you will be put in bed.” The man left, the heavy iron door shutting behind him, locking. The small group of young psionics looked around at the room. There were toys for them to play with, books to read. Pollux walked over, picking up a book, flipping through it. He smiled, looking at the pictures with princes and princesses. He wanted nothing more than to simply look through these books of fantastic stories and dream about the worlds they inhabited.

“You can wead?” A small girl came and sat down next to Pollux, looking over the edge of the book. Pollux glanced over at her, nodding slowly. Was it rare for a 4 sweep old to be able to read? He guessed he was really smart for 4 sweeps. One day he had just been sitting around the new foundation of their hive when he had stumbled across something that had writing on it. He had held it up to his lusus and tried to explain the best he could, but Byclops couldn’t read. Pollux had fought as hard as he could to teach his lusus what he had learned, but to no avail. Byclops would fall asleep at the start of learning a lesson, and Pollux would just give up.

“Howd you learn?” The girl asked, gently papping the book with her hand, trying to get his attention. 

“I don’t know.” Pollux replied, closing the book. “I jutht.....” he bit his tongue, turning away. That cursed “s” sound. He hated it. The girl perked up, looking at him with confused eyes.

“The way you talk is weird...” She said, standing up and walking off. Pollux sighed, opening the book again, continuing to look at the pictures. Maybe if he just stayed quiet and thought about the world in these books, things would be alright.

There was something else Pollux noticed about the room. There were beds lining the walls, small little cots just big enough for one about his size to lie in. He guessed this was a place for them to be living until they reached 5 sweeps...and who knew what would happen to them then. He looked around some more, frowning at the lack of activity. It was boring. He stood, walking to another corner of the room, finding some toys to play with. 

No one would play with him. Maybe it was because he was different than everyone else. They stared at his eyes. They mocked his way of speech. They teased him. How could they do that, Pollux thought. They were all here for the same reason....and he couldn’t make friends with any of them. He sat alone most of the night, until someone came to get them just before dawn to take them out to the desert.

It was time to train.


	3. Chapter 3

“Lift it you psionic dogs!! LIFT!” 

The command was simple enough for the youngest troll at simply 2 sweeps could understand. In a circle, the young psionics stood, hands outstretched, attempting to lift a huge boulder. 

“LIFT!!!” The leader cracked the whip in the air, startling the youngest, causing him to lose focus. Pollux pushed forth more power, the rock cracking as he did so.

The massive boulder cracked and broke into hundreds of pieces.  
“Alright.” The leader looked absolutely furious. “Who, in this tiny group, did this?”  
Pollux didn’t want to admit it. No one wanted to admit it. Their master looked absolutely livid. He walked around the now broken remains of the stone in the middle, looking at every single one of them.

“You,” he said, pointing to Pollux, “you look guilty. Come with me.”

Pollux whimpered, looking down at his feet. The master waved his hand, getting the attention of another guard.

The young psionic looked over, following the man into the building. Nerves wracked his whole body.

“How old are you.” It wasn’t a question.

“F....four thweepth....” Pollux whispered, mentally cursing himself for his stupid speech. He bit down on his tongue, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to keep the muscle still.

“You don’t look it.” The man replied, glaring at the tiny boy. “How can you be only four sweeps and be this powerful?” Pollux shifted, shrugging his shoulders. To be honest, he didn’t know. He made eye contact with this master. It was strange. The man wasn’t angry. He was surprised. His face expressed sheer shock at the fact that a four sweep old wriggler was almost as powerful as he was, if not more so.

“Am....I in trouble?” Pollux asked, eyes wide, fear clearly etched into his face. The man before him opened his mouth to speak, but quietly shut it.

“No.” He replied, letting out a soft, agitated sigh. “No, You’re not in trouble.” Pollux breathed a sigh of relief.

“However,” the man stated, “you will sleep in the nursery today, but tomorrow you will move into the area for older psionics. Is that clear?” Pollux nodded. So much for that, he thought.

“Good. I’ll take you back to the nursery. You may just be our new star.” He grinned, leading the way, making sure Pollux was following him. What on Alternia did that mean? He pushed it from his think pan, concentrating on not asking tons of questions. He didn’t think his master would like it very much if he did that.

The walk back to the nursery was a short one, taking just a few short minutes through the facility. He was ushered inside by the man, whose name still hadn’t been given to him. He sighed and thanked him with a soft nod of the head. He walked over to one of the beds, frowning as he sat down on it. It cold and hard, nothing like it had been sleeping against his lusus. He missed him already.

The feeling of loneliness hit him hard. He curled up on the bed, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He sniffed, tears running down his cheeks. He touched his face, pulling back to show the translucent yellow liquid on his fingers. He bit his lip, grabbing the pillow to push his face into. 

He gave it to whomever it was who designed this facility. It was nice. Everything about it was nice. The only part of it that he disliked was the fact that the people were cruel...no one wanted to speak to him unless it was for his number, telling him what to do.

The first and last day in the nursery was a sleepless one. Pollux lay awake, looking at the ceiling above him, trying desperately to catch at least a little bit of shut-eye. He knew he was going to be put in a different group...hopefully someone there would take him under his wing. There was something however, as Pollux fought to fall asleep, that wouldn’t leave his mind. The man had said he was powerful. Was he? It was something he had never thought about. He had noticed in the training session....the others were struggling to lift the rock. Pollux on the other hand knew that he could have lifted the rock with a little bit of effort, and because he pushed forward to help, the rock cracked under the pressure put upon it. The man said something about making him the next star...what did that mean? Was he growing at a rate others didn’t? Did it have something to do with the fact that he had a bizarre split tongue, and two different colored eyes? Was that something to do with it?

The thoughts got to be almost too much for him. He held the sides of his head, feeling a headache coming on. He whimpered, pulling his knees to his chest. Before the young wriggler knew it, he had fallen asleep, the sun already high in the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

“You get a room to yourself. Once you reach 6 sweeps, you’ll be put in with someone else your age. Until now, enjoy the time alone. Meal bells will ring and someone will come get you. Don’t think just because you’ve got a little more power in your body that you own the place. Get dressed. Lunch is soon.” 

Pollux watched as the giant door shut before him, leaving the room in near darkness. His powers sparked, sending streams of red and blue light across the room. The light flickered on. Interesting, Pollux thought, there was no power switch. Was everything in this place run solely on psionic power alone? He walked over to his bed. Placed there was a yellow and black uniform. The uniform consisted of a yellow pair of loose pants, a pair of black boots with yellow trim, and a yellow shirt with a black sign on it. He took a closer look at the sign. This sign was his. It filled him with a bit of joy, seeing the sign his lusus had given him made into his uniform. He picked it up, quickly changing from his ratty looking cloak to this new outfit. It was a little big. He slid the shirt on over his head, tugging at it, trying to see his sign. It sat right in the middle on his chest. He sat down on the bed, tucking the legs of the pants into the boots like he had been instructed to do. He stood and looked in the mirror. 

 

Two bi-colored eyes stared back at him. He had to admit, they did look a little creepy. Most trolls had yellow parts...but his eyes were completely void of the yellow color. He stuck his tongue out, seeing how the muscle split right down the center, all the way back into his throat. He stuck it out as far as it would go, watching both sides twitch. He spotted something behind him. There was a yellow and black headband laying on the ground in a crumpled heap. He walked over to it, gently picking it up. He had seen psionics around him wearing them. He stretched it over his head, fixing it behind his ears, holding hair from his eyes. He made a distasteful noise, giving it a tug, letting it smack back against his grey skin. 

Pollux heard the bell for lunch. A tall, strong looking male came and opened the door to his room, giving him a look over.

“I see you can dress yourself.” He said. “Four sweeps and being able to do that....Hnn.” The man shrugged his shoulders, grumbling softly under his breath as he led the young psionic to the mess hall.

_________________________________________________

 

Days and nights passed quickly. Every day was the same schedule: Wake up at dusk, first meal, training, second meal, training, third meal, lessons, bathing, and bed...wash, rinse, and repeat. It got tiresome.

Before Pollux even knew it, a sweep at the facility had passed. It was the sweep anniversary of his kidnapping. Psionics had come and gone in that sweep. He had lost people whom he had made friends with. Highbloods had taken his friends away. The higher level psionics were bitter towards the young one in their group, and ignored him. He preferred to spend his time alone, standing off from everyone else. He trained in as much silence as he could, since his master would scream at the top of his lungs to shout commands. He was sure it gave everybody headaches. 

Even without his yelling, Pollux still found himself overloaded with powers. His psionic, electric based energy caused him a lot of problems. He had gone through six different lights in his room because a sudden burst of power in his sleep had busted the lamp. They told him that eventually he’d have to do everything in his room in the dark if yet another lamp was broken. This didn’t bother him. He didn’t mind working in total darkness. His eyes, which gave off a slight glow, helped him see in pitch black. It made him have the advantage over his group members when it came to trials based in pitch darkness. He could see when things were tossed his way during training. It was on less bruise he had to deal with later.

Even with these new found abilities of his, something felt wrong. His head ached more than not, and he spent a good majority of his time, when he wasn’t in training, in the infirmary being treated by a sweet old brown blood.

“Honey, what’s the matter? Do you have a headache again?” Pollux nodded gently, holding the sides of his head as he did many times before. “Lay down, you know the drill.” She moved around the infirmary, grabbing a small blanket and a pillow as Pollux laid down on the cot, curling up in a ball. The nurse maid returned, placing the pillow gently under his head, placing the blanket over him.

“You know, these headaches are getting worse. Perhaps I should put you on a medicine regimen?” she shrugged her shoulders, taking a seat next to him. Her long spindly fingers made quick work in his hair, rubbing his temples where it hurt most. She was used to the sparking of psionics, and the shock that snaked up her arm every time she got too close to their eyes. She treated all of these psionics as her own children, making sure each one was taken care of, and with that came the occasional accidental spark or two that sent her head reeling. 

“Here, let me get you a little pain killer or something....something to make the pain a little more bearable.” She stood, moving to the cabinet, working quickly to find some herbs and some sweet things to sweeten the mixture. She made quick work of mixing and pouring the sweetened mixture into a cup, placing a spoon in the cup before retuning to Pollux’s side. 

“Here, Pollux. Sit up and take this. I sweetened it with honey, your favorite.” She smiled, gently nudging him to sit up. Reluctantly, the small troll sat, his barely open as he gently reached for the cup, looking into the sickly green mixture.

“Ewww groth...” He said, making a face, pushing the cup away.

“Child, it will help you feel better. Eat up. I know you don’t like it but it will help your head and nothing else has seemed to work.” she sighed, shaking her head. “You need to take this. I know it probably tastes nasty, but come on, you’re not gonna get any better with that attitude.” Pollux grumbled, taking the spoon and shoving a good chunk of the mixture into his mouth, swallowing it. 

“Yuck!!” he cried out, trying not to spill the mixture all over the bed.

“Let me get you some water. One moment.” She took the cup, setting it down on the table near the cot, before she got up and grabbed him some nice cool water. “Here child. Drink.” She sighed, watching him chug the water quickly, obviously thirsty.

“I’m ashamed at them trainers....they should know younglings like you need lots of water and food to live....I’m surprised you’re not sicker than you are...” She watched him as he drained the glass, taking it carefully from him, setting it aside. “Lay back down. You need to rest up now.” The small Psionic listened, curling up and falling asleep quickly. The nursemaid smiled and gently patted his hair and sighed.

“You’re special kid, Real special.”


	5. Chapter 5

The headaches never got any better.

In fact, they got worse. 

Pollux was taken from training every day, taken straight to the infirmary, given to the old nursemaid for her to deal with him. On occasion, she gave him medicine and fed him warm food. Most of the time she let him sleep. The poor dear, she would say, malnourished and overworked. She often talked about getting meat on his tiny little bones. However that worked, Pollux wondered, it would be a blessing.

He was smaller than your average 4 sweep old troll. Skinnier. Every bit of fat on his body had been burned off by excess psionic energy. There he stood amongst tall, strong trolls as a medium height, slender troll. The only thing that stood out was his horns. All four of them curved upwards arching gracefully over his head. A good sign of how healthy a troll was to see how strong their horns are. Many in his group had broken or chipped horns. Luckily, at four sweeps, he was much too young to go through any sort of training like that. Only psionics older than six sweeps could go through physical training. Many psionics were sent off to be personal slaves, doing little jobs here and there for their masters, while others became slaves for physical labor.

He rolled his eyes at that. Why couldn’t they just be free? He didn’t want to go off to be someone’s slave. Granted, even at the facility they were taught the basics of what they needed to know as servants to the highbloods, along with how to basically protect themselves. However, most of the work that they did was meant as busy work to get up their strength. Pollux thought it was simply pointless, but did it to avoid punishment. Everyone wanted to avoid punishment. 

Even as his headaches had gotten worse, he still tried to at least stay positive. 

“Willow?” He asked one day, looking towards the kind nursemaid.

“Yes, sweetie?” She replied, turning her attention to him, brushing a bit of her long black hair over her shoulder.

“Why am I different?” He asked, his eyes wide. He held a cup in his hands, warming them. She sat down on the edge of his bed in the infirmary, looking at him with her big brown eyes.

“Well, hun, for one you’re very smart. An’ there’s nothin’ wrong with being different. Now if it’s a question of you bein’ different than all of ‘em mean horrible trainers....that’s a different story.” She said, “Those trolls are horrible and I don’t even see how they got their jobs in the first place. It sure is a miracle.” She laughed a little bit. “Now don’t let anyone know I said that. Only ‘em subjugglators talk of miracles like that.” Pollux nodded. He understood that at least.

“I mean...why do I look different? My eyeth mothtly...and the way I talk?” he asked. 

“Well, dear, you’re mutated.”

That felt great to hear, Pollux thought, scowling a little bit. Mutated? The trainers talked about mutations like they were death worthy. He was the only one in his group that had two sets of horns, and probably the only one in the entire facility to have two tongues and who knew what else? He sank down a little bit, in the bed, looking down into his tea. It wasn’t the least bit interesting. Just a plain black tea made with herbs to try and soothe his headache. 

“You’re alive ain’t yah?” she said, watching him. “Your lusus picked you. For a reason too, I’m sure of it.” She grinned, patting his arm. “Now drink up. You need to get rid of that headache before you get put back out there on the field tonight. I hear a storm is rolling in later tonight. That wont be good for you younger ones out there. Dust storms are dangerous.” She rubbed his back gently. He downed the rest of his drink, making a bitter face. 

“I know I know.” She said, giving a sympathetic smile. “Now lay down and stay quiet. Get some rest.” She stood and flicked the lights off. 

Pollux laid down, his eyes closing tightly as he relaxed. After a little while his headache dulled down to nothing, but as he fell asleep, his mind drifted.

He began to dream.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is so short.  
> I've been super busy with school.  
> I drew a little something to go with it though!

It was a dark place. Pollux couldn’t even see the glow from his eyes. It was pitch black. He heard jumbled words, whispers and shouts from all around him. Just what was he experiencing?

 

        The young troll looked around, seeing no one. He saw nothing but black.

 

        “Who are you?!” He shouted, hearing the voices get louder. He felt someone grip his shoulders. He turned around, eyes wide.

 

        Staring back at him was a set of bright blue eyes. Just eyes, nothing else.

 

        “Young prophet please look at me with your eyes and see; For I too am a prophet like you, please believe me. Your world is not safe. I come bringing words of wisdom.”

       

        Pollux stared up at these eyes, his face twisted in horror. He shoved himself away as much as he could, the hands on his shoulders tightening even harder as he tried to flee.

 

        “No!! NO!!!” He cried out, trying to push the hands away from his shoulders.

 

        “Do not be afraid.” The disembodied voice said. Hard for him to believe, he thought, tears starting at his eyes. The invisible hands on his shoulders gently rubbed, trying to calm him. The eyes blinked at him, a face slowly coming into focus.

 

        It was a woman’s face, with soft features, and pale skin. Pollux glanced at her, eyes wide. She was beautiful.

 

        “W-Who are you?”

 

        “I am a spirit. I have long lost my name.” Her horns came into view. They curled around her head in gentle arches.

 

        “What do you want?” He asked, his voice quivering.

       

 

 

        “I do not desire anything.” She said, eyes softening as she spoke. They didn’t look as leering and bright anymore. “I just wish to share this message with you.”

 

        “Methage?” he asked, blinking his big blue and red eyes.

 

        “Listen carefully tomorrow, for something important will come your way.” She began to fade. Pollux reached out for her but his hand slid right through her now see-through body.

 

        He awoke drenched in a cold sweat.

 

        Pollux looked around the room, sighing. He was in his bed in the infirmary, no one else in sight. The sun raged on the surface above, while everyone else slept. He sighed, laying back down, staring up at the ceiling. What did it all mean? What kind of message was that?

 

        He lay awake for several hours before falling back asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emetophobia warning. it's nothing big, I just wanted to put a warning in there for this.

The next night proceeded as normal. He got up with the rest in his group and headed out for their first round of training. His headache returned about half way through the first set of lifts. He fell to his knees in the sand and raised his hand. His group leader looked furious with him, pulling him up by the horns and shoving him in the direction of the building. “Don’t come out until you’re better, 222.” He grumbled, smacking his back on the way. Pollux stumbled forward, walking blindly towards the building. Once he was inside, the dim lights helped him get to the infirmary. 

That’s when he first heard it. 

He grasped the sides of his head, his head filled with muffled, jumbled voices of screaming and crying. It was louder than any of the assemblies he had been to at his time there. The voices filled his head and blocked out everything else. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t concentrate on a single voice or his head would spin and he’d feel nauseated. He clutched his head tightly and wretched, shuddering. Another psionic passed by helped him to his feet and pushed him towards the infirmary. There, he was put under Willow’s care. 

“Sweetie what’s wrong?” She asked, holding a waste receptacle by his bedside, just in case he got sick again. Pollux kept holding onto his head.

Suddenly, everything stopped, and silence took over. 

“222, sweetie, talk to me.” She said, patting his shoulder. She took a seat next to him. “What’s the matter?” He looked up at her with big eyes.

“I know that look when I see it, boy.” She said, brushing her thumb across his cheek. “Talk to me, what’s up?” Willow offered a smile.

“I had a weird dream latht night.” Pollux admitted. “A nightmare...” he frowned, biting his lower lip. 

“Tell me about your dream.” Pollux swallowed, gathering his thoughts.

“A lady came to me in my thleep and told me that I wath going to hear a methage. I don’t underthand and I thtill don’t underthtand.” He frowned and sunk a little bit. Willow sighed. 

“When I was talkin’ a bit ago, did ya hear anythin’ I said?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. Pollux quietly shook his head.

“You’ll think ith crazy, but I heard a bunch of noithe. They were thcreaming and yelling...all thaying run and flee and hide. I don’t underthtand at all....” He rubbed at his temples. Willow gently rubbed his back. 

“Does your head still hurt? I can getcha some medicine if you want.” She offered, giving him another comforting smile. Pollux shook his head.

“It thtingth a little but I think I feel okay....it’s quiet now.” He trailed off, hearing a loud thumping noise from above. 

People were screaming. 

Willow stood, alarmed. She hurried over to the door and threw it open. Group leaders were herding hundreds of young psionics down into the depths of the building.

“Drones!! Drones!!!” Many were shrieking as they fled in a hurried panic towards the back part of the facility. Willow hurried over and picked Pollux up, carrying him out of the room, following the crowd of psionics. She ducked between some of them, taking him to another part of the building. She opened a tall steel door, walking inside, shutting it with a large thud. Pollux shivered, looking around wildly, his eyes glowing.

“222, can you make the light come on?” she asked, rubbing the back of his head. He nodded, flickering his psionics, the smell of static electricity rising as the light flickered on. 

“We’ll be safe here. Some of the other medical staff will be down here soon, I bet. We’re safe.” She rubbed his back and set him down.

“What’th going on?” Pollux asked, eyes wide, his tiny frame shivering. Willow slipped off her cloak and wrapped it around him. 

“Hush child.” She said, patting his head. “It will all be alright. Don’t fret.” 

That didn’t tell him anything. He felt alone, scared. Even when he was with her, he felt scared...confused. 

 

 

It was hours before the screaming came to an end.   
It was hours before the debris had been cleared and things were able to return to normal. 

Willow and Pollux stayed down in the dank corridor with about a dozen others until the way had been cleared, and the door was pushed open. Even once the door had been opened, the air in the corridor rank of fear, psionics, and blood.

“Some fuckin’ practical joke that was....does she not fuckin’ know we have wrigglers here? Disgusting.” One elder troll said, shuffling out towards the great meeting room. 

“I’ve heard she doesn’t care.” Said another.

“I hear they killed them. Destroyed ‘em. They’re easy to kill if you know how.” The elder troll shrugged. “it’s a shame. So many died.”

Death?   
Killed?  
Pollux felt sick to his stomach. He was tired of death.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for a delay with updating this. I had a really hard time writing this chapter and I'm even more sorry if it seems rushed. I'm hoping to get some art for the next chapter done, and maybe get some in earlier chapters.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and for continuing your support of this! It really makes me so happy.
> 
> -Addy  
> (on tumblr: solluxbutt)

Pollux spent the next few days in the infirmary. His headaches had gotten better, but his instructor was concerned about his health after what had happened. How kind, he thought. He figured the others had no feelings and would just simply shove him aside. The more he thought about it the more he realized that they took good care of him despite being rough on him. He sat in the dark, staring blankly at the wall across the room. People were talking outside the infirmary. It sounded like Willow. She was talking to someone, and it seemed to be a heated debate of some sort. 

Pollux sighed and curled up under the covers, attempting to get some sleep. He couldn’t make out words, but he hoped that things were going okay.

When he woke up, the room was filled with dim light and Willow was sitting at her desk in the corner again, writing something down. Pollux made a soft noise and sat up and Willow turned her attention to him.

“Well hello there.” She smiled at him, getting up and going over to him, taking a seat at the foot of his bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine....” Pollux mumbled, keeping his voice soft. 

“I’m glad.” She ruffled his hair in a kind gesture, patting his cheek with a warm hand. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Thurprithe?” he asked, his eyes widening. “What kind of thruprithe?”

“Well get up and get dressed and I’ll show you.” She stood, returning to her desk. “There’s a different outfit for you on your left. Change into that. I’ll be back shortly.” With that, she stepped out of the room, leaving Pollux to change. 

The small troll pulled back the sheets, crawling out. He touched his bare feet to the ground and looked around. There to his left was a pile of clothing. It was a faint yellow color. He reached over and pulled it up. It looked like some kind of robe with a sash across the middle with his sign on it. He tilted his head and changed into it. It was a little bit big on him. The sleeves went down and covered his hands and the bottom dragged the ground. There was a hood on the robe that he pulled over his head, his horns fitting into holes cut for them. He glanced at himself in the mirror and frowned. He looked stupid. 

Willow walked back in and smiled at him. “It’s a little big, but it will do.” She stepped up to him, patting his shoulder. “Come with me.”

“Why do I have to wear thith thilly thing?” he asked, frowning. 

“You will see soon enough. Come with me.” 

 

She led him to a part of the facility he had never seen before. They went down a great ramp in the center leading to another ramp. This one was long and spiral shaped. It led down to the bottom of the building, hundreds of feet below the surface of the desert above. It was cold. Pollux exhaled and he could see his breath as they slowly descended lower into the facility. Along the edges of the ramp there were long strands of lights illuminating the path before them in an eerie glow. Finally they reached the bottom.

Pollux stood at the beginning of a narrow hallway shrouded in torn tapestries. Lanterns made from paper hung from the lowered ceiling. The same string lights made a path towards the end of the hallway, which at this distance, was too dark to see. Willow patted him on the shoulder and turned to head back up the ramp.

“W-Wait! Don’t leave me down here!” Pollux shouted, turning and running towards her. She swept him up in her arms, holding his tiny, frail body against her warm chest. 

“Hush, child. You’re safe here. There’s someone you need to meet down there, and I can’t go with you. S’not my place. Be strong, child.” She gently set him down, placing a soft kiss on the top of his head. “Go on.” She nudged his back and turned towards the ramp. When Pollux looked back she was gone. 

It was the eerie silence that got to him. Every step he took echoed around him. The sound, only slightly muffled by the tapestries bounced around him. From further down the corridor, he heard faint whispers and giggles. He shivered, looking around him. He even felt as if he was being followed. He kept his psionics dancing at the corners of his eyes just in case.

After walking what literally seemed like forever to the small troll, he came upon a large door. He looked up as far as he could see in the dim light and it went up for what looked like to me miles. Right at head height was a knocker. He reached a tiny, bony hand out to it before a voice spoke from within.

“Come in.”

Pollux hesitated, eyes wide. But, he hadn’t even knocked! The voice came from inside once again.

“Come in. I don’t have all night.”

Pushing the heavy door open, the tiny psionic walked inside. It was dark inside, just like the rest of the hallway. The room was circular, several dark figures standing in the corners, with one troll sitting in the center, eyes wrapped with a piece of heavy cloth. Blind? Pollux was confused. How had they...He fumbled with the sleeve of his robe as the heavy door shut with a thud behind him. 

“Come closer, wriggler. You’ve got nothing be afraid of.” The troll in the center raised her hand and beckoned him over with a slim, bony finger. He stumbled closer, keeping watchful eyes on the other cloaked members of the circle. The troll leaned forward, brushing her finger across his cheek, making the small troll squeak in surprise. 

“Hush now.” She said, her voice soft. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Willow.” A smile spread across her cheeks. “She’s a very good friend of mine. We grew up together here.” She moved her hand away from Pollux’s face and patted the pillow next to her. 

“Why am I here?” He asked, moving to go sit by her.

“You ask a very good question, my dear. Good. It’s good to ask questions. Don’t let anyone ever tell you different, you hear?” Pollux nodded. “Good. Now, allow me to explain.”

“You may call me the Mentor. It is my title, given to me by my master, the leader of this facility. It has been a while since I have taught another young psionic my art. I am a prophet.” She turned to him, smiling. Pollux looked very confused.

“A what?”

“I am a prophet. I tell prophecies based on what I hear and see.” 

“How can you thee if you’re blind?” Pollux covered his mouth. “T-Thorry I didn’t mean to thound rude...”

“Remember what I said about asking questions? It wasn’t rude at all. Trust me.” Patting his head she untied the cloth around her eyes. Pollux stared back at her with a blank expression.

“My eyes are like yours.” She said, “Dual colored. It’s a mutation. It’s also a tell-tale sign of prophets. We see using our minds, instead of our eyes. It’s rare to find a wriggler who has made it this far with eyes like yours.”

“What do you mean?” Pollux sat on the edge of the pillow, wanting to know more.

“Well, most mutated grubs are slain in the caverns before they find a lusus. Sometimes, there’s not a lusus to pick them, and they are slain then, right as they’re seeing the moonlight for the first time.” The young psionic cringed. He missed his lusus, even if he was about as bright as a bag of rocks.

“Tho...i’m lucky?” He asked.

“Yes, very.” She smiled at him. “So lucky in fact, that you’ve been brought here to me so you can learn. I’ll teach you how to deal with your headaches,” Pollux visibly cringed at this, “And how to tell prophecies.” 

 

Night after Night, Pollux studied with the Mentor until his skills had become just as proficient as his teacher’s. He learned quicker than any student she had before. Soon he was wearing robes made from a thick, warm material in the color of his blood. The robes were dyed a deep gold, his symbol expertly embroidered into the sleeves, and onto the sash across his waist. Even now, at nearly seven sweeps old, he was still small for his age. His horns had grown taller, his limbs lengthening out so he looked tall and lanky. He stood taller than his mentor by at least six inches, even when sitting next to her. 

Each night young trolls who worked in the facility came down to have their fortunes read by the two psychics. Pollux would lightly run his fingers over their hand, feeling thoughts and emotions pass into his mind. He would whisper quietly, his psionics reaching out for an orb or a piece of glass. There, his mind would either etch the words of the prophecy into the glass or trap it inside the orb. The materials used would glow blue and red, the colors of his powers, and of his eyes. He would do this every day until he fell asleep in his place, and his mentor would tuck him in, letting him get his rest. 

The next night however, things were different. He was woken up early, the sun just barely setting below the horizon.

“Pollux, wake up.” She said, nudging him gently, to not startle him. “Your age group is being assembled. Come on.” 

He slowly sat up, rubbing at his eyes. 

“Athembled? Why?” He inquired groggily. She handed him a piece of fruit to eat. He bit into it, the juices running down his chin. He carelessly wiped his chin off with the back of his hand. 

“There is a highblood coming to make his pick of your lot.” She said, getting his cloak ready. “It’s not every day a highblood as high as him comes to visit. You should feel honored.”

“How high?” Pollux finished the fruit, setting the core aside, pulling his robe on over his head, tying the sash around his waist. 

“A young admiral, a purple blood. He’s a sea dweller. I’m sure he’s looking for someone to clean his ship and do work for him, but you never know...I could never imagine an admiral needing a prophet.” She nudged him with her elbow, making him stand up straight. “You’ll never know though if you don’t get your butt out there.”

He didn’t want to be someone’s slave. He was perfectly happy staying where he was, giving prophecies to the trolls around him, staying with The Mentor. He didn’t want to go, but he knew he had to. He scrambled up the stairs, heading towards the exit of the facility, where members of his age group were lined up, awaiting the arrival of the admiral.


	9. Chapter 9

The air was heavy, if that was possible in the desert. The squawkbeasts loomed over head, even their cries silenced. The group of seven sweep old trolls stood in a neat line. Many of the seven sweep old trolls were tough and strong, their horns cracked from heavy psionic lifting. Many of the trolls were yellow bloods, there were a few lower yellow bloods, nearing the brown caste, then there were higher ones, reaching almost lime. Everyone knew limebloods went extinct many, many sweeps ago. Their purpose was clear to everyone, with the exception of Pollux, who was confused about a lot of things.

The ocean was a few miles north of the facility. The admiral would arrive any moment now by the loud motor vehicles. The sound of roaring engines was heard as several highbloods made their way in. Pollux shifted nervously, watching as the trucks were parked and the highbloods made their way to the front.

“Admiral.” One of the officers bowed his head to the tall sea dweller. His skin glistened in the light of the moons. His gills fluttered in the faint breeze, the tips flushed a deep purple. The admiral held his hand up to the officer, and he stepped backwards, letting the highblood have his room. There were a few others, blue bloods, mostly stocky in body shape, not leaving much to the imagination. The admiral was different however. He stood tall, lean, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with narrow hips. He was a built swimmer, with broad fins standing out from his cheeks. His deep purple eyes glanced across the dozens of trolls standing in line. Many wore the same or similar jump suit, each embroidered with their symbol. Pollux stood out, eyes cast downwards, hood shielding his eyes from any stray glances. 

The admiral was taking interest in this little one. 

“Does an admiral get his first pick?” He spoke with a thick accent, hailing from the northern sea. The officers nodded and motioned for him to go ahead. “That one.” He pointed to a cloaked psionic near the end of the line. Pollux looked up, horrified. A couple of officers pulled him out of line and towards the back of the building. 

“That is all.” The admiral said, turning and heading towards the back of the facility. Once there, he was able to get a good look at his new slave. He pulled the hood back, exposing the horrified psiioniic’s eyes. 

“Unusual.” He said, placing his thumb against his cheek, tugging at the lower part of his eye. “normally pissbloods don’t have eyes like this.” He gave a flick to one of Pollux’s smaller horns. “Nor horns like this.” He flinched.

“He’s been trained as a prophet. He’s not a fighter.” The officer with him said. “His brain is mutated I guess.” Pollux sneered at the officer, which earned him a smack from his new owner.

“Don’t sneer.” The Admiral barked, glaring at him. “Now what paperwork do I have to fill out, how much do I owe, and when can I take him away?” The two trolls exchanged money, comments, and jeers. With a harsh tug, the Admiral yanked him along. He pulled a small jar of something out of his pocket, sticking his finger into the substance. He grabbed a great big glob of it before he forced Pollux’s mouth open, shoving it inside, holding a hand over his mouth while the younger troll struggled and tried to snap at his captor. 

“Swallow it, pissblood!” He snapped, smacking the side of his head. “I don’t care if it tastes like shit! You’re not blowing my fuckin’ ship up!” Pollux winced, swallowing the jelly. It had a similar consistency to jelly, only thicker and much more viscous. It slid down his throat in one big glob. He turned his nose up and followed the highblood back to the motorized transportation device. 

Several hours later, or at least what seemed like it to the tiny troll, they arrived at the pier. Everyone piled off and went their separate ways. Several of the other highbloods boarded other ships at the pier. Some went off on their own on foot. Pollux was left with the admiral. 

“Listen here.” He said, giving the psionic’s shoulder a shove. “You will refer to me as Dualscar, do you hear me?” The tiny psionic nodded. “Good. Now grab yer shit and lets go.” 

 

The next few days were torture. Pollux spent the entire time closed up in the holding cell at the bottom of the ship. The mind jelly had worn off and he was sparking off and on. He sighed, sinking down into the corner. The seas were rough. Everything moved all the time, and he constantly felt sick to his stomach. He ate whenever another servant brought him food, and he bathed whenever he was taken out of his cell for long enough to be dumped with warm water. It wasn’t long before the ship docked for supplies. Dualscar came down and personally looked after getting Pollux cleaned up. He was given a proper bath, and given clean clothes. He was dressed in a simple outfit of a loose fitting shirt and pants tied around the waist. Both were stamped with his symbol and his master’s symbol. 

“I’m going into town. You’ll be coming with me, but I’m tying you to the dock. I have business to take care of.” He said, tugging him up to the upper deck of the ship. The night was beautiful. The town was a small fishing town. Nothing exciting. People were standing around the pier, looking at the giant ship. It must have been abnormal news to have a huge ship parked there. They were gawking at the admiral as he stepped off the ship with his “companion.”

Soon, Pollux Castor found himself tied to the pier next to the dock. He sighed, taking a seat. No one seemed to question it. They just gawked at Dualscar as he walked by, his long cape swishing behind him in the salty air. For a long time, he sat there alone until a troll about his age came by, sitting down with him.

“Whatcha doin’ all tied up and stuff?” the troll asked. Pollux shrugged.

“My owner went into town to look for thomething. Thaid he had buithneth to take care of. Tho I’m thtuck here.” He muttered, biting his tongue. The other seemed to giggle a little bit. 

“Oh okay.” He got up and started to walk away, which made Pollux sad. He glanced back towards the rope. It would be so easy to untie with his psionics...if he felt like it that was. Pollux was sure that if he somehow managed to escape that he’d get the beating of a life time. Dualscar just seemed like that kind of troll. 

Hours passed. Dualscar still hadn’t showed. A few kind trolls stopped by and fed Pollux, giving him scraps of bread and fish. He ate it with a smile, thanking them. Not long after, something amazing happened. 

There was an elderly troll talking with him. Pollux was listening to the troll tell him about his life, and how Pollux reminded him of himself a lot. Then the old man reached out and touched Pollux’s hand. The psionic gasped, his eyes wide opening wide. He felt a prophecy pass through his lips, muttered in a soft, ancient language. He felt around, finding a piece of stray glass on the ground. Using his psionics, he etched the prophecy for this elderly troll into the glass. The elderly troll looked at him, concerned, but Pollux handed him the small piece of glass.

“Thith ith for you. I don’t know what it meanth, but ith a prophethy for you.” Pollux said, putting it into his hands. “It hath meaning to you, and only you. Only you can underthtand the true meaning and when you do, it will come true.” The old troll looked contemplative.

“You are a very special one.” He said, reaching into his pocket, handing him some money. “You keep this. People will learn of your talent and flock to you if you stay here. You’re one of a kind.” With that he left. Pollux watched him leave. He was more confused than he had been in a long, long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to apologize for this taking so long to update. School has been a big factor in this, and my stress level has been through the roof. Now that school is out for the summer, I have a lot more time to sit down and actually do things. 
> 
> Thank you for all your kind comments and kudos for this and I am just so overjoyed that people were actually worried about this actually being canceled since I havent updated since march.
> 
> if you have any questions at all, or want to contact me you can either send me a message through here (which I think you can do) or you can find me on tumblr.
> 
> My tumblr url is http://solluxbutt.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you!!


	10. Chapter 10

“Where did you get that money?!” 

“I-I told you! The old troll gave it to me!”

“Did you steal it?!”

“No!”

Dualscar had backed him into a corner on the dock, eyes narrow. He unlocked the chain around Pollux’s ankle and dragged him up by his shirt. The psionic squirmed as Dualscar hauled him back to the ship. The sea troll took him into the quarters of the ship. He tossed Pollux down on the ground. 

“You’re staying in my sight for now you filthy liar.” He pulled off his cape and tossed it in a nearby chair. He was undoing the armor on his shirt, and Pollux just stared at him. Dualscar was tall, muscular but thin. He had a swimmers body. As he moved every muscle could be seen moving and working underneath the thin fabric. 

“Would you stop starin at me ya freak?” he asked, grumbling at him causing Pollux to look away muttering a soft apology under his breath. Dualscar pulled his shirt off, switching it for something more comfortable. There were deep scratches down his back, dripping purple. 

“You’re bleeding.” Pollux whispered quietly, looking back up at him. Dualscar glanced in the mirror and shrugged. 

“Guess I am. Oh well. I’ll clean it up later. That’s what happens when you go to fill a black pail.” He shrugged his shoulders, instantly regretting that decision. He winced and sat down in his chair, taking his boots off. He stepped down onto the wood of the room with bare feet. He stood up and stretched. 

“So you good for something other than being a pitiful lowblood?” He asked, a snarl starting to fester at the end of his sentence. Pollux stammered a reply.

“I’m a prophet.”

“Obviously. That’s what they told me at the fuckin’ training camp. What do you do besides that? What about your freaky mind powers? Hm?” He crossed his legs, slouching in his chair. 

“My pthionicth?” Dualscar visibly flinched. 

“Good god that lisp you have is awful. Open yer damn mouth.” Pollux did as he was instructed. Dualscar leaned over and looked into a mouth of jagged spikes, large ingrown fangs and two tongues. “Absolutely disgusting. No wonder you can’t talk. Good luck finding a matesprit with that freak mouth of yours.” Pollux stayed quiet, fumbling instead with the hem of his shirt.

“I propose an idea.” Pollux glanced up at Dualscar, who looked deep in thought. “I think we are going to stay in this town for a while. You seem to have a knack for stealing money from people. We’ll just set you up on the pier in your own little place and you can steal all the money you want. I’ll even make you a sign. It will read Professional Thief.”

“But I didn’t thteal anything!” he exclaimed, standing up. “I didn’t! I told you that! He gave that to me because I gave him a prophethy!” Pollux’s eyes started to flash, psionics dancing around his cheeks and up around his horns in soft flashes of red and blue light. They crackled and fizzed against his skin, lashing out like static towards Dualscar. The sea troll stood and shoved his shoulder with a hand, shoving him backwards. 

“Don’t you dare flash your freaky mind powers on me or I’ll shove more of that numbing stuff down your gullet and watch you choke it down, you hear me?!” Dualscar snarled, his fins standing out from his face in warning. “Do you understand!?”

“Yeth....”

“You will address me as my title!” Dualscar snarled, taking another step closer to him.

“Y-Yeth Orphaner Dualthcar!”

“God you cant even say my name right.” He scoffed it off and pushed Pollux out the door, slamming it behind him. Pollux slumped outside the door. 

The night was drawing to a close, and the sun was rising. Pollux was given a room on the ship, a tiny room with an even punier bed. Dualscar had decided that Pollux didn’t need a recooperacoon since he never used one at the facility, and the ship was fairly warm anyway. Pollux curled up on the tiny bed, wrapping himself in the thin blanket before he drifted off to sleep. He dreamt of nothing but the sight of fireflies dancing around his vision.

The next night Pollux was set up back on the pier, this time with a tent that was sturdy enough against the worst weather with a small cot inside. He had about 8 feet of chain attached to the harbor with a clasp around his leg. There was a jar inside the tent for collecting money. Dualscar set him up in there and put a sign on the exterior of the tent that said “Prophet readings. Inquire inside. He even got him a bunch of glass pieces, most of which were from broken bottles and some even for shells. 

And that’s where Pollux Castor spent most of his night until the sun set. Every night Dualscar would bring him a collection of bottles and broken pieces of glass and collect what was in the money jar. Three perigees had passed, and every night Pollux sat in his tent and read fortunes, prophecies, and told tales of dreams he had. Trolls had come from all over the region to talk with the prophet, and the line always was long outside the tent. Dualscar was enamored with all the attention his slave was getting. In fact, it made him a bit jealous. He began catching fish for the harbor to make him seem like the good guy, when in fact he had more of a reputation of finding a kismesis and killing them after he had filled a pail. Pollux could always hear him wandering by muttering something about filthy lowbloods and how he wished they could all be dead or how he could purge them all and gain HER favor. He never spoke more of this mysterious female. She was rumored to be the ruler of Alternia. He decided he’d ask about her to some of his clients. 

“What can you tell me about the ruler of Alternia?” Pollux asked one day, sitting cross-legged across from one of his clients. She was a gentle old brown blood. She reminded him a lot of Willow back at the training facility. She would always come every day with her spare pocket change to have her fortune read.

“You want to know about Her Imperial Condescension?” She asked, looking a bit shocked that he hadn’t heard of her already. Pollux nodded. “I hear she’s evil. She’s a seadweller like your master. Her blood is the highest on the spectrum. She runs a powerful army that no one can defeat. I’ve heard her hair is tangled like a deep brush of seaweed and as black as the night. She wears the finest gold on Alternia made by only the best. She culls anyone that gives her a funny look. She’s immortal and she kills all of her suitors. She seeks no quadrants, seeks no heir. She must really like her job...” Pollux looked horrified.

“Doeth thee really do all thethe thingth? No wonder our world ith like thith...with a ruler like that...”

“I hear she’s got herself a new helmsman. She’s been planning a trip to visit new planets in this galaxy.” She placed her chin on her hand, resting her elbow on her knee.

“Helmthman? Whatth that?” She gave him a very serious look.

“Only the best of the best are sent to be helmsmen. They’re taken apart limb from limb and rewired to fit into the ship. Then their nervous system is fused with the ship’s wiring allowing them almost complete control. They’re psionics just like you.”

“You really know a lot don’t you?” He inquired, eyes wide, staring at her blankly. This was too much. How could they do that to someone?

“My matesprit was a blueblood and he was in charge of the procedure. I learned a lot from him.” Pollux of course knew what had happened to her matesprit. He had died in a mass culling spree of the Subjugglator’s dark carnival. He nodded in reply.

“Well I wont keep your line. Have a good night.” She dumped her change into the jar and headed out of the tent the next person making their way in.

A massive wave of nausea passed over Pollux. He grasped his head, his psionics fizzing. A pen and paper were to his right, and his powers picked up the pen and scrambled words furiously across the paper. The guest took their seat. The nausea passed after a moment and he went on with the reading. As Pollux dismissed the individual, he glanced over at the paper, picking it up and reading it. 

> Sparks, Fire, Things go boom. 

Well that didn’t make any sense. He folded the paper up and set it aside, continuing to read energies, using up almost all of his bits of glass. As he used the last one he flipped the sign on the outside of his tent from open to close. There; no one would bother him now. 

A vision hit him like a bag of bricks. It started at his head and sent a frigid cold bolt through his body. Images flashed quickly. Fire; huge massive flames riding the brink of a giant explosion, giant pieces of metal hurling into the ocean. Death was imminent. He could see the pain on the faces of trolls, the images of people screaming, highbloods crying. What on earth would make a highblood cry, he thought. The images rolled over as the flames died down. One piece of metal was floating on the water before it began to sink to the bottom of the blood and oil filled water. The logo of a trident, the words engraved in gold along the side of the ship.

> Battleship Condescension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for being a reader and for being awesome. I am so thankful I have awesome readers like you. 
> 
> I also thank you for being patient with me. Life is a bit hectic and updates are a bit sporadic, but i hope to keep things going at a steady pace here soon. 
> 
> If you have any questions/comments/concerns you can either leave me a comment here or send me a message on tumblr. You can find me at the url Solluxbutt.
> 
> Comments/Kudos are appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

He had to take a minute to process what he had just witnessed. He hastily scrambled around, gathering the materials he needed. He mumbled a quiet apology to the patrons, saying he’d be opening back up again in just a little while. He tied the flaps of the tent shut, mumbling to himself. This wasn’t good. This couldn’t be good. What was going to happen? Not a single one of his prophecies had been false. He wrote down all the details he knew. His handwriting was terrible. He could barely read his hurried scrawling across the page. It was all he could do however. He rolled up the torn piece of paper and stuffed it into his robes. He tugged on the chain around his ankle. He knew he would get punished for this, but he had to. With only a little effort, the ankle clasp came undone. He left the chain there and hurried out of the tent, fleeing towards his master’s ship.

Dualscar sat inside counting money as tediously as he could. The seadweller had great big bags of it around his desk. There came a soft knock at the door.

“Oh what is it this time?” He growled. Obviously Dualscar was in a foul mood. Pollux pushed the door open.

“Mathter Dualthcar! Thomething terrible hath happened!” He panted, doubling over. He fell to his knees, groveling at the end of the desk. Dualscar slammed his hands on the desk, standing upright.

“Yeah I’ll say something terrible has happened, you’re not chained to your tent anymore.” He growled, “What the hell is the matter with you!?” He approached Pollux, snarling.

“I had a prophethy! A really bad one, we don’t have much time!” Pollux scrambled backwards, bumping into the door. “Pleathe you have to believe me!”

“Spit it out already then! I don’t have all day!” 

“Her Imperial Condethention ith in danger.” He stuck out his tongue a bit, holding in tears.

“And how is she in danger?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Pollux dug in the front of his robes, pulling out the rolled up piece of parchment. He handed it to him. Dualscar opened it up, reading over it. He clutched the paper tightly in his hands.

“Is there anything else you saw besides this in your vision?” His voice was shaking.

“No.” Pollux shook his head.

“You’d better not be lying to me. If you’re lyin to me I swear I will have you culled.” There was another knock at the door. 

“Captain there has been an explosion off of the starboard bow. Flames must be hundreds of feet high! Smoke for miles!” one of the stewards said. Pollux swallowed hard. He lowered his head. Dualscar’s eyes widened. He shoved Pollux out of the way of the door, rushing out to go up to the deck. Pollux hurried after him. 

His suspicions had been confirmed. There had indeed been an explosion. There were tears in Dualscar’s eyes as he stared ahead at the wreckage. 

“Take him back to his tent.” He told his deck hand. “I’ll be going away on business.” With that, a teary eyed Dualscar went and started barking commands. The deckhand, a blueblood, ushered Pollux back to his tent. Once he was chained again, the yellow blood curled up on his mat, turning the lantern off with a flick of his psionics. The sun would be up soon and sleep was a precious thing. As he slept, he dreamed.

He dreamed that some day, some time, there would be a troll who would sweep him off his feet and take him far, far away. He’d be free to live, free to walk, free to fly. 

The next morning the news had spread of the Condesce’s death. It spread like wildfire. People were talking about it in the streets. They spoke in hushed whispers. Who would rule? Who would take her position? There were no more tyrian bloods, the jade bloods had reported. Would the rule go to the violet bloods? Was there another blood color higher? Pollux sat outside his tent, munching on a piece of fruit, the sign for open on his tent. No one wanted a prophecy today. The town was in too much of a panic. Even the empress’s lusus had died in the freak accident. Pollux heard passing mumbles of the fact that her helmsman had to have known what he was doing. 

At the facility, they always made it seem that being a Helmsman was the best option. Willow had always told him that being a Helmsman was not a good thing and that they all had it wrapped in their minds that being a living battery was a life worth living. After all, they wanted nothing to do but to serve the Empress. It was a noble position after all. 

That wouldn’t work now that the Empress was dead, would it?

 

About a month passed. Things had returned to somewhat normal. Dualscar hardly ever spoke to Pollux, aside from to collect the early evening jar of money and tips from prophecies. Even then, he hardly spoke. Pollux guessed he was upset over what had happened. There had been no talk of someone taking leadership, for there had been no heir to the throne. Indigo bloods had declared that it was their right, but of course the sea dwellers were upset to hear that and fought back with their own angry shouting and glubbing. He had almost forgotten that he was supposed to be doing fortunes. 

“I’ll have next in.” he said, pushing open the flap to the tent with his psionics. It went on like this for almost an entire sweep. Chaos had ensued near the capital, news passing by that several cities had been destroyed and thousands had been slaughtered the Subjugglator’s moonrise festival. Traffic around the tent had dulled down. Pollux, now a sweep older, looked awkward in the tent. He had grown much taller, his voice deeper. His clothes didn’t fit anymore. Luckily he had made a few friends, or at least a few trolls he reluctantly called “friends” who made him some new outfits. Dualscar had given him a slightly longer bed to sleep on, so he was a bit more comfortable. Dualscar had been not too happy with the fact that Pollux now looked like a bean pole rather than the tiny, short, and bony troll he had been a few sweeps back. The tent had also been given a little bit more height as to not make it any more awkward for the bean pole troll.

“Next.” He said, flapping the tent open. 

The next troll who walked in and sat down was wearing a long gray cape that was tattered at the bottom. It was made with holes in the hood, showing two horns protruding. As soon as the troll looked up and caught Pollux’s eyes, he knew he was in for something special. His life was about to change forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your patience!!! I finally am able to get this next chapter out to you and I hope to keep working on this as I can.


	12. Chapter 12

“Mother come on! We’re going to be late!”

Slowly, the troll called mother began to stir. 

“What is it child?” She asked, opening her golden eyes. “It’s much too early yet. The sun is still up.” The other troll nudged her and curled up in her arms. 

“But mother if we don’t get a head start we’ll be late. It’s at least a night’s walk to the next city. That’s not even counting if we manage to find a hoofbeast to ride.”

“If we can even find one…Carmine, child, go back to sleep. The sun will set in a few hours and we can leave then. I promise.” She groaned and rolled back over, a soft snore coming from her lips moments later. 

Carmine couldn’t sleep. He stared at the exit of the cave, the harsh sun beating down on the ground. He could feel the heat leaking into the cave. It was nice. It meant that they didn’t need a fire to keep warm. The rocks outside soaked up the light from the sun and heated the mouth of the cave. They were safe there. He eventually curled up, wrapping his cloak around him to block out the light before he fell back asleep. 

The two trolls were traveling from city to city. Carmine was well known for his gift of preaching peace and harmony for all trolls. His story was known in the underground. Born without a sign, his lusus: a jade blood who worked in the caves with the mother grub, rescued him and raised him. This was a forbidden practice. Having no sign meant that a troll was mutated, destined for culling. His blood, a bright crimson, was not on the spectrum, and considered to be mutated. This didn’t stop Carmine or his mother. Rosa, as she was called, took care of him and even protected him. 

That evening right after the sun had set the two trolls began their journey to the next city. They saw many sites as they made their way along the dirt path. 

“Mother, what kind of people do you think will be at the next city? Do you think they’ll be nice?” he asked, looking up at her. His eyes had already begun to take on his blood color. She pulled his hood up and hooked it over his horns. 

“I’m sure they’ll be nice individuals who are in need.” She replied, patting his shoulder. “You must stay close to me at all times, alright? We don’t know what’s going to happen or who we’re going to run into. You know the plan.” She said.

“Run as fast as I can out of town and find a safe space to hide. Then we’ll meet up later. Yes, I know.” He said. “Listen for the signal that all is clear.” He nodded. “You tell me that every time we go to a new city.”

“You know I’m just trying to protect you.” Rosa whispered, gently taking his hand and pulling him along the path.

“I know.”

The city, mainly inhabited by low bloods was glad to see him and Rosa. They let the pair stay with them for as long as they’d like, feeding them the freshest food they could gather. Carmine talked with so many trolls until he fell asleep as the sun was rising into the sky. He had gained so many new followers that night. As they made their way to the next village, a troll named Dani asked to follow them. She had been writing down everything Carmine had been saying at each sermon she was able to make it to. The duo had become a trio as they made their way to the next town.

“I hear this prophet has been getting lots of business over on that sea town over off the edge of the seadweller’s ocean. You know, Gaima?”

There had been a lot of talk about this prophet. Carmine had heard the prophet mentioned to him more times in one day than he could keep count. He figured he’d bring it up to Rosa.

“Mother?” He asked, pushing the door open to her room. They had ever so kindly been given a room in the inn. 

“Yes Carmine?” She was sewing, sitting on the cot with her legs folded underneath her. “What can I do for you?”

“I keep hearing mentions of this prophet.” He said, sitting down beside her. Dani pounced over from her cot to Rosa’s, listening intently. “I want to go meet them.”   
“And where exactly is this prophet?” Rosa asked, not taking her eyes off the needle as she continued to sew. 

“I’ve heard that they’re off the coast, in the sea town of Gaima.” Rosa froze at that mention.

“Do you know what lives in Gaima?” She asked, looking at both Dani and Carmine, who were both listening intently. They both shook their heads. “Seadwellers. Purple bloods. They’re dark, evil trolls.” She said. “not as bad as the late empress, but they’re fighting for control. The fate of the hemospectrum lies in their hands.”

“Mother, you know I don’t care about the hemospectrum. It’s fabricated. It shouldn’t exist, and you know that too. Otherwise you wouldn’t have rescued me.” Carmine stated rather firmly.

“He’s right you know.” Dani spoke up. “After all, it’s not every night you hear of someone who could have abilities like Carmine does. It would be interesting to check out.” She purred.

“We have to stay super safe. We don’t know what kind of people are there. It’s by the sea…the whole town could be infested with highbloods, and you’d never make it out of there alive.”

“Mother you shouldn’t worry so much.” He said, reaching to touch her face, gently shooshing her. “It will be okay. We can take care of ourselves. You never know. They may love us there.”

 

About a sweep later the trio made their way to the sea town of Gaima. They arrived just around sunset, having left right before, cloaked in heavy clothing to protect them from the sun. The town was huge; much larger than any town they had gone to previously. There were several ships docked, which made Rosa nervous. They could see the masts from the top of the hill that led down into the main part of the town. Shops were starting to open and trolls were starting on their day. Rosa, Carmine, and Dani made their way, cloaks up, into the main part of town.

"How strange." Rosa said, looking around, keeping her voice low. The town was mainly lowbloods. The colors they wore on their clothing gave them away. There was a population of mainly rust bloods and brown bloods in this town, with the ocassional olive blood. There were a few hushed whispers as the trio made their way to one of the booths. 

"Can you tell us where we might find a prophet?" Rosa asked. The troll at the booth looked skeptical.

"He's on the dock. You're not from around here are you?" He asked. Rosa shook her head.

"No, we're nomads." she said. "Nomads visiting town to town." A few hushed whispers continued. The troll at the booth, a hearty brown blood, gave her a glance over.

"What's your blood color? You look too high to be any nomad." He said, eyes narrow. Rosa lifted up her cloak, flashing her jade sign. "Jade? Why i'll be....." he mumbled, "This far away from the caverns?" he asked. She gave him a little bit of a stern look. 

"We're nomads. nothing more." She insisted.   
"Not transporting illegal cargo are you? The mayor would be angry about that if he found out." the brown blood said. Someone spoke up behind him.

"Or are you here to spread a message?" a woman piped up, her voice soft against the stillness of the air around them. Carmine looked up. He had been given lenses to hide his true eye's color.

"Yes!" he said, eyes widening. "That's it." Rosa turned around and glared at him.

"Well i'll be...the legends are true. Welcome." The man said, bowing his head. "We promise you're welcome here. I apologize for the trouble." The man muttered sheepishly. "It's not every day we get a celebrity in our town. With recent events we've become skeptical of a lot of things." He led the way for them to follow. They were led into a building made from clay, into the basement. There, a door led down into a cellar. It was damp and cold, but there were gifts and writings on the wall. 

"We've heard you three could have been near....we anticipate a great sermon tonight if you'd be willing, Signless." The man said, pointing down the hall to a room with cots and warm blankets. "I promise you're safe here. We meet down here when we can to prepare for your eventual visit. I hope it suits your needs."

"Your generosity is most appreciated." Carmine said with a smile. "It's perfect. I will give you the best sermon I can muster." he grinned. "I just ask that I am able to meet with this prophet."

"That will not be a problem. I advise that you hide yourself when I take you there. His master is one of the most powerful highbloods in existance right now. He lives in a tent by the ocean. I believe his master is away on call, due to the death of the recent empress, but he could return any day now."

"Then we must not make any haste." Rosa said. "I have no interest in meeting with this prophet, but I will accompany along. Will you take us there?"

"Of course."

The three made their way back up to the surface, breathing in the salty air of the ocean. The closer they got to the dock, the more nervous they became. There was a tiny tent pitched up next to one of the docks, leading out to open sea. The ship was gone, but there were other ships lined up along the pier. There was a short line gathering outside of the tent, people clutching old tattered fabric, or bags of coins. Carmine felt anxious as he got in line, pulling his cloak tighter around him. He had taken out his lenses, showing his bright red eyes again. 

The sign flipped over from closed to open, and trolls begin to enter and exit the tent. Soon, Carmine was next in line. The moment the tent flipped open, and he heard "next," he stepped inside.

The inside of the tent was small and cramped. Sitting with legs crossed on a soft looking mat was the prophet. He wore yellow robes, made from mismatched materials. There was a table in front of him, with a small bowl that had money in it. 

"Have a theat." he said. The prophet looked up and saw Carmine as he was sitting down. Eyes met. Carmine was shocked. One blue, one red....he had never seen anything like it. His eyes went wide as he sat, legs crossed. 

Pollux was just as shocked. Out of his entire time being a prophet, he had never seen someone with eyes that color.

"What can I read for you?" Pollux asked, pushing his sleeves up, so they wouldnt drip into the candles that were lit around the table. 

"I suppose just a general reading. This is the first time I've ever done this." he said. 

“Put your handth on the table fathe up.” The prophet instructed. Carmine did as he was told, setting his hands on the table, palm facing the top of the tent. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as the prophet gently placed his hands on top of his. As the psionic tensed while seeing a vision, Carmine opened his eyes. This poor troll. He was thin, bony, and way too tall for this tent. Carmine bet that he never even got a chance to leave. He glanced down underneath the little mat. There was a shackle around his ankle. This poor troll was a prisoner! He had to do something, if he could that is. 

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, the prophet opened his eyes, looking very confused and a bit concerned. 

“What…what did you see?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading.
> 
> my tumblr is http://solluxbutt.tumblr.com


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this thing works right, the middle little section where it suddenly is in 3rd person, should be the vision. it SHOULD be in italics, but it may not work.

“I….” The yellowblood looked very confused. He blinked a few times. “I’m…I’m not thure.”

Carmine blinked back at him. “Not sure?” he asked. “I don’t understand….”

“Normally…I thee through the eyeth of whoever I am giving a reading to. But…but not this time.”

“It was different?” Carmine looked intrigued. “How so?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

You weren’t entirely sure what was going on. As the vision began, you opened your eyes, looking around you. This wasn’t like any vision you had ever had before. You looked down at your hands, psionics sparking at the corners of your eyes. You looked up. There were flames on the horizon. Fire? Panicked, you turned around frantically. There, you came face to face with the crimson blooded troll. He looked at you with bright red eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, “You’re just in time. Follow me.”

You followed him. He led you into a cave…into some room of sorts. There were hundreds of individuals inside. You looked around frantically. Where was this place?

“Pollux. It’s alright.” He said, gently touching your arm. “You’re safe. I promise.” He gave you a smile. His whole face lit up when he smiled. He walked through the crowd who bowed to him. You followed, nervously glancing around. A tall troll, dressed in jade robes gently ushered you over to the side. 

“Where ith thith?” you ask, your voice heavy in your throat. She smiles. “Carmine preaches. He tells tales of freedom without cruelty and freedom from the caste. He tells of how all trolls are equal no matter what the blood color.” You glance back up at the makeshift stage. People are presenting him with gifts. People are singing. They are worshipping him. There is another troll in the corner frantically writing down notes in a giant book with a feather pen. 

“Friends!” Carmine says, holding his arms out. “I thank you all for gathering here. Thank you for being here. I come with a message; a message you have all heard…a message you have all been waiting to hear from my very own lips.” 

He spoke for a long time. He spoke, and you listened, your eyes wide at his every word. He could be killed for speaking so wrongly of the highbloods…of the late empress. Yet, his speaking impressed you. Everyone in that room was hanging on to every word that came out of his mouth. He spoke specially of love; love that has no boundaries. He spoke of the caverns, how his lusus saved him, risking her own life.

The vision changed, much as it always did. You were in your tent, looking up at the lit ceiling. It was day, that much was obvious. You heard rustling outside the tent. That’s when things went dark.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Pollux opened his eyes after he had finished speaking of the vision. “You know you could get in trouble for all of thith…if you were found out.” 

“I wont be found out. We are very careful.” Carmine smiled. “That much I promise.”

Without much else, the crimson blooded troll left the tent. As dawn came closer, Pollux shut down for the morning. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Mother we have to do something.” Carmine said, looking frantic. “We can’t leave him here.”

“Carmine…I understand you want to do the best you can, but we can’t save every troll we come across. He has a master, who will return any night now, and if he shows up and his slave is gone, he could kill everyone in this village.” Rosa hissed, shaking her head.

“I know….It’d be dangerous, but we have to do something…” and so they began to plan.

A few nights passed. Carmine, Rosa, and Dani had gathered everything they needed. As soon as the sun rose, the three donned heavy, thick cloaks. They shielded their eyes, and skin. Rosa, who by this point in her life was a rainbow drinker, didn’t need a cloak. She soaked up the rays of the morning sun. She carried a heavy cloak in her arms. They made their way quietly to the tent on the pier. The sign outside read “Closed: Come back Tomorrow” in somewhat messy script. Rosa began untying the rope. Something shifted on the inside. Carmine nodded at Rosa. Once the tent was untied, Carmine slipped inside.

Pollux flared his psionics to life, turning and hissing at the intruder. Once the tent was closed behind him, Carmine gently pushed off his hood.

“Shhhhh.” He said, hurrying over to the troll. “We’re saving you.”

“What?” Pollux looked very confused. “Thaving me?” he asked as Carmine got to work trying to figure out how the ankle cuff was attached. 

“Yes, we’re saving you. Mother made cloaks to protect us from the sun. We’ll be okay as long as we wear them. We’ll get to the forest and find a cave.” He fumbled with the cuff before Pollux pushed his hand aside, and used his psionics to bend the chain until it broke. 

“I’ll deal with the retht later.” He said, fumbling over the table in the middle of the tent to grab the jar of money that was still full. He shoved it in a burlap bag and began shoving other things that were important to him inside. Carmine quietly urged him. Rosa passed the cloak into the tent. With the cloak on, hood pulled up over his horns, burlap bag tossed over his shoulder, he was ready to depart. He stepped out into the brightening day. He shielded his eyes. It was already getting bright out. He turned and glanced once more at the tent. It was shabby and filthy from sweeps of use. It was caked in sea salt from the air. Carmine gently grabbed Pollux’s arm. 

“Lets go.” He urged. Pollux flicked his wrist and the entire tent went flying out into the ocean. He was thankful it was gone.

 

They ran into the shade of the forest. Quickly, they searched to find a cave. Dani found one near the edge of the forest. They quickly scrambled inside, sinking deep enough inside to be completely enshrouded in darkness. With a little help from Rosa’s glowing abilities, they were able to start a fire within the cave. Dani went out on a hunt deeper in the cave to find something to eat for dinner.  
“I’m…free.” Pollux said, sitting down on the ground of the cave. He looked at Rosa and then at Carmine. “Kind of.” He glanced down at the cuff still around his ankle. With a little effort, it came off and clanked across the floor of the cave with a few bounces.

Within an hour, Dani had found a handful of fish from the depths of the cave. While she ate hers raw, Rosa cooked the others. She offered some to both Carmine and Pollux, both who ate like they hadn’t in sweeps. Carmine glanced over at Pollux, who looked exhausted.

“You should get some rest.” He said, smiling at the psionic. “You deserve it.” After a bit of talking, Pollux had finally settled down to rest against his burlap sack, the cloak draped over him like a blanket. 

“Mother he looks so peaceful.” Carmine said, watching him. “I’m glad you decided this was a good idea.”

“I still worry about that town. I worry that his master will come back with a vengeance and murder everyone…Pollux said he was a seadweller…and you know firsthand how their tempers are.”

“Yes but I am sure that the people would know to hide. After all, they have the safe room.”

“Only some of them do.” Rosa gently reminded. “You should get some rest too Carmine. It’s going to be a long night tomorrow. We need to find some place safe. Perhaps we can make it to the next town tomorrow if we’re lucky.”

“Alright. Good morning, mother.” He said, smiling.

“Good morning.” She ruffled his hair. Carmine laid down beside Pollux, falling asleep after a little while. Dani was soon to follow, curling up at their feet. Rosa stayed awake for a little while longer before she too decided to rest.

The group woke up to chaos. There was screaming and the sound of large heavy footsteps. Everyone scrambled to get to their feet and gather everything. They needed to get further into the cave. 

“Mother what’s happening?!” Carmine hissed, eyes wide. They went as far as they could into the cave. It was a rather large cave, which they soon realized would be a mistake. The four of them pressed against a back wall as a giant red and black beast stood in their path between the exit and where they were now. It held two giant metal buckets, one in each hand. Rosa gasped.

“No….” she managed to get out before the beast roared and began to advance on them. Pollux stepped up, standing in front of them arms outspread.

“Pollux no! You cant! It’s no use!” Rosa shouted. Her words fell silent as the beast roared again. Carmine gripped the back of Pollux’s robes, eyes wide.

Pollux concentrated hard. It was just like the one that attacked the facility in the desert. Just like it. His eyes flared bright, flashing electricity around the cave. He opened his eyes wide feeling pressure against the back of his skull. Pain ripped through his skull. He let out a scream, nothing compared to the roar of the beast readying to charge. 

In a great flash that was so bright, Carmine, Dani, and Rosa had to shield their eyes, the beast was gone. Pollux stood, wavering. 

“P-Pollux….” Carmine whispered, looking at him. The psionic had faint red and blue light emanating from his eyes. He closed them gently and slumped forward, collapsing to the floor of the cave.


	14. Chapter 14

 

“The entire town has been demolished. There weren't any survivors. They think the seadweller tenant sent the drones to attack. No one is really sure. Is your friend alright?”

“He’ll be fine in due time. Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure, your honor.”

“Oh that’s far too formal. Thank you for everything.”

The inn was mostly dark. It was tucked away in a small town hidden in the forest. After the near cave in, Carmine, Rosa, and Dani had carried Pollux to the nearest town. They had walked into the inn looking battered and bruised and the inn keeper, a follower, let them stay for free. They had laid Pollux out on the bed supine, a soft pillow under his head. 

Rosa had tended after him for a while, pulling a blanket over him, letting him rest. Carmine paced. 

“Rosa, what if he is seriously hurt? Did you see the force of that blast? He could have blown out his brains! What was he thinking!?”

“Carmine, he was protecting us. There is no reason to be upset. His eyes are still there. I checked for damage earlier.” She managed to get out before Carmine started ranting again about how he should have been more careful. Dani in the mean time, was curled up on one of the other beds asleep. She had carried most of Pollux’s weight. While he was thin, he wasn’t exactly light.

“Rosa, he could have been killed…then our rescue mission would have been worthless.”

“We rescued him, and he rescued us. He returned the favor, two fold if you will.” Carmine sighed as Rosa spoke.

“But mother…” He was interrupted by a grunt and a groan. Pollux slowly opened his eyes.

“What happened?” The psionic groaned, clutching his head. Rosa was right at his side. 

“Shh child..” she cooed, “stay still.” She calmly explained what had happened. Pollux’s mind reeled. 

“I dreamed.” Pollux whispered, “There wath death everywhere.” 

“Shh child……” Rosa whispered, smoothing her calloused hand over his forehead. “Rest. We have a long night ahead of us.”

 

 

The trio rested well before donning their capes and heading out into the night. They didn’t want to stay in a place too long. They wanted to get as far inland as possible in a night. The road was tough and they had to stop every now and again to rest and get water. Pollux, despite being able to move and keep up, he was still having issues maintaining the pace of the journey. Soon, they arrived at an impasse. 

“We can’t go any further.” Dani said. “There are high bloods up ahead guarding. This is bad…..” she looked over at Carmine, who still looked positive. 

“She’s right.” Rosa sighed and gently nudged Dani. “Go search for shelter. Stay out of sight. We’ll camp out for the rest of the night and through the day tomorrow.” 

“But Rosa…” Carmine looked crushed. “How are we going to make it to the mountains if we keep this up?”

“I know.” She said, shaking her head. “But Pollux needs to rest.”

“Rotha, i’m fine…” Pollux stammered, but Rosa cut him off.

“We all need to rest. Dani is looking for shelter. In the mean time, let’s go off the path and keep out of sight.”

The trio headed out off of the path. Pollux shivered, pulling his cloak further around himself. Carmine glanced back at him and gave him a weak smile. He stepped back to help him.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked. Pollux nodded. He felt alright, just cold. He shivered again and pulled his hood up over his face.

Dani returned after a while pointing out a nearby cave. 

“It’s nice and dark. Secluded too.” Dani grinned, her face smudged with dirt.

“Sounds wonderful.” Rosa sighed, gently nudging Carmine. “Lets go ahead and go underground. We’ll be safe there.”

“There’s even a reservoir for fresh water. I checked.” Dani looked so proud. She rushed off, leading the others to the reservoir cave. Dani led the others down inside. It grew colder and more damp the further they went. Rosa brightened, her glow helping the decent. Once they reached the bottom, Dani led the way across the reservoir of water. It was shallow, and easy to wade across. 

“We’ll be safe here. There are crabs to eat and lots of fresh water.” Dani said, settling down. “We can build a fire and dry off here.”

As Rosa and Dani began building the fire, Pollux and Carmine spoke quietly to one another.

“Have you had any more dreams?” Carmine asked, gently laying out his robe to dry. Pollux followed suit.

“A few.” he said, frowning. “Not many. They’re getting more and more cryptic.” he mumbled, shrugging a little. He sat down on the edge of the damp robe, glancing at the fire. It crackled to life, spreading warmth and light. “All I know ith that there ith a lot of darkneth and fear thoon.” Carmine looked worried.

“Well...think of it this way. It gets better in the end. Always.” 

 

Night ended and day came. They all slept peacefully curled up on their cloaks. Rosa had gone out earlier in the morning and managed to capture a decent sized hornbeast that she could carry back into the cave. As Night came again, Dani was the first one up. She helped prepare the meat for cooking. Carmine awoke to the sound of Pollux having a daymare.

Carmine shook him gently, brushing his hair from his eyes. They slowly fluttered open. Carmine couldn’t tell where he was looking with no pupils like that, but at least he knew Pollux was awake.

“You were dreaming.” Carmine said. “Something bad, huh?” 

“No, really. Of courthe.” Pollux groaned and sat up. “I can hardly ever thleep right anymore. Until the visionth thtarted, I got loth of retht….and now I can’t go a day without dreaming.” He grumbled and rubbed at his eyes.

“It will get better.” Carmine said. “If you want, we can explore deeper in the cave today. It will be fun!” Pollux managed a little smile. 

“Thure why not.”

“Not until after breakfast.” Rosa said, bringing them a bowl of hot, cooked meat. 

“Rosa this smells amazing! What is it?” Carmine asked, using the wooden utensil Rosa had given him to shove a bite of food into his mouth. He gasped and fanned his face. “Oh ih hohh!!” Pollux chuckled.

“Of course it’s hot, dear. It’s hornbeast I found last morning. Dani helped me roast it over the fire this evening. Eat up dears. You can explore the cave after you eat.”

Once everyone had a full belly and was in good spirits, Carmine and Pollux crept deeper into the cave. Dani and Rosa stayed behind to clean up and also to gather food for later that night. 

“Wow what’s that?” Carmine went leaping across a couple of flat rocks to look at a bioluminescent bug. 

“Carmine be careful!” Pollux hissed, using his psionics to light the way. “There could have been a cliff there and you would have fallen and died.”

“Oh dont be such a worry bug, Pollux! I’m fine. Besides, I’m sure you would have caught me with your cool powers anyway.” He stuck his red tongue out at him and laughed.

“I dont even know if I could lift another troll into the air. I’ve never tried.” He shrugged.

“Oh! You should try! Try right now!” Carmine beamed and closed his eyes tightly. “Come on! Lift me up!”

“Carmine you’d hit your head on the theiling.”

“Then do it like an inch or something off the ground! Come on!” He bounced a little bit in anticipation.

“Then open your eyeth, thtupid. You don’t have to clothe them.” He rolled his eyes and stuck his hands out. His eyes sparked to life, surrounding Carmine in a faint red and blue aura. He then was lifted a few inches from the ground and set right back down. “Ta-da.”

Carmine gasped and grinned widely. “That was amazing! I felt like I was flying!!”

“Becauthe you were.”

“Do it again! do it again!” Carmine chanted. Pollux shooshed him.

“Not tho loud! What if there ith thomeone elthe in thith cave bethideth uth?” The psionic sighed and grasped the edge of his cloak.

“Pollux, I honestly doubt that there is anyone else in this cave. Dani checked it out remember?” He ruffled Pollux’s hair. “Sometimes I think you need a good friend to keep you in check.”

Pollux’s face flushed a little bit. “Carmine are you waxing pale for me?” he asked, looking at him.

“What? No. I don’t believe in the quadrants. They’re unnecessarily difficult and complicated. I belive in friendship and love. None of this caliginous love or ashen. It’s not for me.” Pollux just kind of nodded. It didn’t make sense to him hardly at all. All he knew was that he felt a bit fuzzy. 

“Letth keep going.” He mumbled, using his eyes to light the way deeper into the cave. 

The cave bottomed out at a large deep mass of water. It seemed to go on for ages, and even Pollux’s psionics couldnt reach the bottom. 

“Maybe it’s a bottomleth pit. I’ve heard of them when my old mathter told me he’d throw me into one.” Pollux shrugged. “I can’t thwim tho i’d rather thtay away from it.” He took a couple of steps backward, sitting down on the rock behind him. 

“Well your master was an asshole.” Carmine laughed and shook his head. “C’mon. I wanna swim. I could teach you.”

“W-What?! No! I-I mean Carmine there could be theadwellerth down there!” Pollux stammered, sparking nervously. 

“Oh come on where is your sense of adventure?” Carmine shrugged off his cloak. He shimmied his leggings off. Pollux always thought that the leggings that came up all the way to his chest looked incredibly stupid, but who was he to complain? He wore poofy asshole pants and a weird shirt that had stupid flowing sleeves. At least it was better than that stupid jump suit he had to wear before Dualscar bought him. He was glad to be rid of that. Carmine grinned at him before he stepped down into the water.

“Shit it’s cold!” he hissed, holding onto the edge. “Come on Pollux. It’s not bad I promise. I’ll hold you up and I can help you if you start to panic.”

“Carmine, I told you I don’t feel comfortable around water…” he mumbled, rubbing his arms. 

“Fine then.” Carmine ducked under water to swim, holding his breath. He couldn’t swim very well, but he knew the basics from what Rosa and Dani had taught him. He resurfaced again after a few moments, spitting water and shaking his head. “It feels so nice, Pollux. Please try it at least once...for me?” 

Pollux felt his face flush gradually. He slid his cloak off, laying it gently on the rocks behind him. He shrugged off the top with flowing sleeves and removed the poofy asshole pants. He stood in the dark, scarred, scared, and naked. He shivered from exposure, creeping closer to the edge of the rocks. The water was dark and deep below him. Carmine held onto the rocks on the other side. He squatted, and peered into the water. He slowly extended one foot into the water, and pushed himself in. He clung to the side of the wall tightly, not even considering letting go. Carmine swam back over to him, grinning like a fool.

“See? I told you you could do it!” he beamed, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “It’s not that bad once you’re actually in. Now come on!” He grabbed Pollux’s arm and tugged. Pollux gasped and flailed, closing his eyes tightly as his head dipped under water for a moment. Carmine pulled him back up and supported him gently, holding onto the wall with one arm. “Easy, easy.” He patted Pollux’s back as he spluttered. The cave had been plunged into darkness. 

As Pollux opened his eyes again, the cave was gently lit. The water around them glowed a faint blue and red, reflecting off of the surface. Even Carmine was bathed in a faint red and blue light. He felt his heart flutter. Carmine grinned at him, his hair sticking to his face and neck. Pollux couldn’t help but grin back, that toothy grin of his. Laughter echoed around the chamber, grins not leaving their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh! Sorry this has taken literally so long. I've been super super busy with life. A lot has happened between the last update. I moved, and trying to get adjusted to the new location has been tough.
> 
> I created a new blog for information about this story, if anyone ever has any questions. Not that this story is hugely popular or anything.
> 
> The blog can be found at http://prophetstuck.tumblr.com 
> 
> my personal/main is still http://solluxbutt.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all of you reading this. It means a lot to me.  
> I have opened up an askblog for this story if anyone wants to submit headcanons, art requests, or questions.   
> that can be found at http://prophetstuck.tumblr.com

When Pollux and Carmine had finished exploring the cave and swimming, the two of them climbed out of the water, dressing in their warm cloaks before heading back. They were met with warm smiles and hot food. Together they ate and discussed plans. Dani had gone out the morning before and had helped map the area. The path up ahead was heavily guarded. No doubt of course, because up ahead was close to a large capital. Hundreds of thousands of people probably lived inside, surrounded by high walls. 

“Mother I want to see them.” Carmine said, studying Dani’s drawing. “It looks magnificent.”

“I know, child. But we can not. We must go around if anything.” Rosa said, sighing. “There is only one way around.” She tapped the map. “and it passes dangerously close to the guard tent. It’s way too dangerous to go by night.” 

“Why ith that the only way around?” Pollux asked, looking at the map. “Couldn’t we go thith way?” he pointed to the path on the other side.

“There’s little to no cover over there. Plus,” Dani sighed. “It’s a very steep slope. Even if we managed to get down it, I didn’t venture down far enough to see what was down there. “If anything it goes into the city the back way, but we can’t go into that city. it’s crawling with highbloods. There are even rumors that the Enforcer has set up in that city.”

“The Enforcer?” Pollux raised his eyebrows.

“A brute of a troll. Indigo blood. He creates horrible devices for the Subjugglators to use at moonrise. They’re troll driven. Like drones, but instead of them being giant, incredibly disturbing drones, they are powered by trolls like you.” Rosa pointed at Pollux. “Psionic power. It’s rumored that in the sewers of that city there are psionics keeping the power running.”

“That’th horrible!” Pollux gasped, furrowing his eyebrows. “Ith there nothing that can be done about them?” he asked. Rosa simply shook her head.

“I’m afraid not.” She said. “I used to see psionics in bondage when i worked underground. While most of us were jade bloods, there was always the spare psionic or two that was used to keep the lights on. You are lucky. There are not many like you, Pollux.”

“None as brave as you.” Carmine added. Pollux slumped. 

“I’m not brave. I’m jutht doing what I do.” he shrugged and stuffed a bite of food into his mouth. “We have to figure out a way. We can’t jutht thtay here forever.”

“My suggestion is that we take Pollux’s route.” Dani said, pointing. “There’s a way around the walls, i’m sure, and from there we can take refuge in the forest.”

“Does anyone else object?” Rosa asked. Blank stares were exchanged, everyone just sort of nodding in agreement. “Alright. We move at dawn.”

 

 

When dawn came, the four of them quickly stomped out the fire and gathered their things. They donned the heavy cloaks and Rosa stepped out into the light first. It was warmer than normal. Rosa glanced around, not seeing any trolls in sight.

“Lets go.” she said, waving the other three on.  
Quickly the four of them scrambled down the path, Pollux using his psionics for stability. They quickly found the forest and hurried into the darkness. Much to their dismay, there was another camp of highbloods just up ahead. They hurried away from it as quickly as possible. The huge walls of the city were to their backs as they rushed into the forest. 

“Wait here.” Dani said, scaling a tree to the top. She scouted along the path, narrowing her eyes. She shimmied down the tree and landed on the ground with a thud.

“It does look clear ahead.” she said. “I didn’t see any outposts.” 

“Alright great.” Rosa said, smiling. “Lets get going then.” 

 

The day was long. By the time that night fell, the three had discovered another cave. This one much smaller than the others they had been in before, they had to sleep in close quarters. Carmine and Pollux laid close with Dani, who was passed out the moment they got into the cave. Rosa kept watch through the night, until Pollux awoke. 

“Rotha, you can thleep.” he said. “I will keep watch.” She smiled at him and nodded. 

“Thank you Pollux.” she nodded at him and crawled behind him to curl up against Carmine and Rosa.

The psionic sat and kept an eye on the front of the cave. Ideas ran through his head on how he could check and see if anyone was coming. He flicked his psionics, sparking a little in the dark cave. He let the current run down to his fingertips. The current spread out from his fingertips, tracing across the entrance to the cave. He felt all sorts of things, incects, birds, and mice just being a few of them crawl across his fingertips. He shivered, feeling heavier things move across them as well. After using his powers to scan the object, a bearbeast came into his field of vision. It didn’t have anything to do with the cave, just passing by. Pollux expanded the range out further, feeling blindly for anything else that could possibly be there. He began to even feel the breeze tickling the grass. The hair on his head stood on end as a particularly large something stepped on the electricity field that he had set up under the soil. Quickly scanning it, he knew it was something not biological. Whatever it was, it was a large metal machine. Not a drone, he thought, They had some biology to them. He quickly retracted his psionics. He knew it was a good mile away, nothing to worry about it being all the way over here.

The later it got in the evening, the more people were awake. Carmine had finally woken up several hours later, followed quickly by Dani and eventually Rosa. Carmine came and sat up next to him, watching. 

“Anything interesting happen while I slept?” Carmine inquired, glancing at the yellowblood.

“Yeth, actually.” he said. “I found that if I am to put my hands on the ground and concentrate really hard, I can actually thend out my pthioncith to reach thingth far away.”

“That’s awesome!” Carmine said, grinning. “What kind of stuff did you reach?”

“bearbeatht, birdth, and thomething much bigger.” he said. “thomething like a big machine.” He watched Carmine’s face fall.

“How far away was it?” he asked. “was it really really far away?”

“Pretty much tho yeah. Nothing anywhere near the cave that I could feel. That much i promith.”

“Good.” Carmine sighed and leaned back. “I think we are going to travel by daytime again, so you should get some rest, Pollux. The night is still young.” the psionic nodded, moving to curl up. Dani made it her mission to go scope out the land, climbing up into trees to get a better view of her surroundings. She caught a few things to eat and brought them back as well, setting them at their feet. Rosa spoke with the two of them with hushed voices.

“We need to make it here.” she said, pointing at the map, as Carmine quickly cooked up the food. “It will be our best bet to hide away there for a few days. That way we aren’t seen. The majority of this town are lowbloods, and they have very little highblood influence. We can maybe even do a few sermons there, that may be something that we can manage in the underground. From what I remember, they have an underground tunnel system that connects to large rooms that they use for trade and transport.” Carmine nodded.

“I rather like that idea, mother. I think that would be a really good idea. Perhaps if we offer them that sort of freedom, they will be more likely to give us what we need. Shelter, food, perhaps materials to mend our cloaks.”

“It’s possible. I do have a little bit of money from the last sermon. I could always purchase those materials.” Rosa tapped her chin. “I feel like we would be able to take care of it if need be.” she said. “They’ll take care of us.”

“Of course. We all need a few good night’s rest.” Dani said, rubbing her arms. “Its really tough traveling in the sun. Especially with how hot it’s getting. Rosa smiled weakly.

“That’s the one good thing about being a day walker.” She said. “It’s very helpful for the heat. “I can make the cloaks thicker. We don’t want any burns.”

“Yeah, especially no burns.” Carmine said, shuddering. “I remember my first time out in the sun. My skin blistered on my arms after an hour.” Dani cringed.

“Yeah, thicker cloaks would be nice.” Dani laughed a little and sat back on her heels.

“Dinner is up.” Carmine said, “Would someone wake Pollux?”

 

 

That day they traveled towards the next city. It was a long hike. Before they were even close to arrive, night fell. They took shelter under the trees, pulling their cloaks off as the sun sank behind the horizon. Dani looked around, eyes scanning the forest. 

“I don’t think anything else is awake yet, so lets hurry to the next town.” she said. They all nodded in agreement and broke into a jog. Pollux used his psionics to help keep up, as he was not fit for running. As the moons rose, they could see the city in the distance. 

“Perfect.” Carmine said, grinning. “Lets go.”

“Wait.” Pollux said. “Look.”

Pollux’s psionics flared out onto the ground, feeling. There was another large machine scowering the land. It was much closer this time, coming right for them. He could feel several large beastly trolls with them. 

“Run.” Dani said, eyes open wide in fear. “Run!”

Chaos ensued. Rosa, Carmine, and Dani broke into a run. Pollux ran after them, but heard the machine getting closer. He turned and stopped, standing with legs apart. He put his hands out to the side, a defensive position. Psionics crackled around his fingertips, as the machine’s came into view.

“Look master!” One voice said. “It’s a psionic!”

“Very good. The hunt hasn’t gone so well. Lets collect him.”  
“He doesn’t look like he wants to cooperate.”

Pollux shouted and in a flash of red and blue, four of the eight trolls were eliminated. He slumped, eyes glowing. In that down time, a large troll, larger than Pollux had ever seen, tackled him to the ground. Pollux cried out and sparked, clawing at his face and arms. He left burn marks across his skin, psionics reaching out, lashing at the flesh. The troll dripped indigo blood onto his face and neck. He grinned a manical grin and slammed his head against the ground, his vision going black.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay with this chapter.  
> A lot of things have happened. Please be warned: this chapter contains a graphic surgery scene. please take caution if you are triggered by such things.  
> thanks
> 
> this story has a tumblr. http://prophetstuck.tumblr.com  
> my personal is at http://solluxbutt.tumblr.com

Pollux slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that registered was the fact that it was completely pitch black in the room. The next thing that registered was the fact that his whole body was numb, at least for now. Pain spread first through his head, then soon filling his body until the point where he cried out.

“He’s awake.”

His head throbbed harder than any migraine he had ever experienced. 

“I guess that last round took it out of him. He’s hardly responding.”

“Do we have anything for him?”

“Give him 50 cc of ketamine. just enough to keep him conscious.” Pollux felt a small prick on his arm, but didn’t even flinch. Within a few minutes the headache was subsiding, his vision clearing. After blinking a few times, his vision returned. He was laid out on a table, arms and legs bound to the table. 

“Welcome back.” The light above him flickered to life, shining a bright white light into his eyes. He flinched as they pointed the lights away from his eyes. “You were out for a bit longer this time. I guess we’ll keep in mind how much mind honey you can consume before blacking out.” He wanted to mutter a smart remark, but his mouth felt full of cotton. 

“We’ve deemed you fit for surgery. You will replace the current rotting helm of the procecution device. Once you have healed, we will begin the purge of the guilty.” The enforcer laughed darkly at the look on his face. Pollux’s eyes went wide. He struggled against his bonds. “Ah ah ah…” A hand was placed on his chest. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you. You will undergo the procedure immediately. After all, as the new Enforcer’s helm, you’ve got the best seat in the house.”

Pollux felt nauseated. Panic welled inside him. What if he never saw Rosa or Carmine or Dani ever again? What if he died? He didn’t want to die yet! He had so much left to do. His brief taste of freedom was ruined. Crushed beneath the hands of the brute of the troll called the Enforcer. Maybe Pollux was destined to be a slave forever. Perhaps he wasn’t meant to be a prophet. Perhaps slavery was what was in store for him. After all, he did fit the bill. He felt tears well up in his eyes. A soft sob escaped his lips, tears running down his cheeks. As he was wheeled from the exam room into the operation room, he hiccuped softly. He was scared. He shivered, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists. 

A mask was placed over his mouth, forcing air into his nose and mouth. His face contorted in fear as he sobbed silently into the mask. He felt needles slide under his skin, being taped there with thick pieces of the sticky substance. Lights were turned on above him. He felt the cold liquid begin pushing into his body as he was hooked to machine after machine. Soft beeping was the last thing he heard before his vision went dark once again. Forced into a deep coma like state, the first splice was made.

The surgeon, a blue blood, had performed this surgery hundreds of times. She cleaned the spot on his chest where the first incision would be made. She cut down his chest, cutting across his collarbones, creating a y-shaped space to open him up. After the cuts were made, she carefully peeled back the skin, exposing his insides. She made a face.

“You have to see this….” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” 

“What the? What is going on? I mean i’ve seen mutated trolls but nothing like this.”

“His bones are warped. There’s no way we’d be able to cut and remove anything without killing him. His rib cage is too close to his heart. We’ll have to figure out something else. Ready the psi siphons. We’ll stitch him back up here and start from the back. We will attach the siphons along his spine. We’ll insert them using a spinal tap. Here’s to hoping his spine isnt messed up either.”

It took nearly 600 staples to close his chest before they put a few sterile towels on his chest and slowly rolled him over. 

With practiced precaution, she cut an incision down the length of his spine, splitting the skin open. 

“Oh thank god his spine is mostly straight.” she said, grumbling. She grabbed one part of the psionic tap plate, a flat piece that anchored the rest of the tap plate in place over the vertebrae. It would attach to the psi siphons to his spine, holding the siphon in place on his spinal cord. Very gently the surgeon slid the first tap plate piece behind the cervical section of the spinal column. Sliding it in place, she readied the spinal tap. 

The surgeon slowly slid a needle with the small psi syphon between his vertebrae. Once attached, she slowly pulled the needle out, the syphon staying inside. She cut an incision and slid the tap plate into the skin, using a clamp to hold it together as she drilled it together, securing it on either side of the spinal column. Going further down, she attached another, sliding it between his twisted ribs, another further down towards the middle of his back, and the final one behind the lumbar vertebrae. She attached the proper drainage bags for waste removal, making sure they led out of the body with just a few simple sutures. 

“Prepare the bio harvesters.” she said, watching as a lab technician went and opened a huge tub of slowly writhing biowires. The surgeon began stitching up his back, securing the external tubes for the dialysis and waste removal system outside his body. The technicians brought over the biowires. The thin wires braided together, sliding into the new ports on his back. They sparked to life, harvesting the psionics. 

“Well it looks like they’re working.” She stapled them down his spine, holding them in place as they continued to spark. They turned him back over and fitted him with the mask, pressing the pieces into his temples, making sure the connection was strong against his eyes, so no power would leak out. They settled the mask around his horns, fastening around his head. The mask gently lit up, showing that it had power. They fastened the ear pieces onto the mask, making sure the speaker inside of them worked properly. 

“Lets get him into the recovery helm.” The surgeon said, checking his vitals. The surgery had lasted several hours. Pollux was still unconscious when they loaded him into the recovery helm. It was a box nested with biowires. They wrapped around his arms and legs, locking them in place. They inserted four IV’s into his neck, wrapping the wires for the bags inside the biowires. They slowly removed the iv for the anesthesia. They kept the oxygen mask attached, gently tilting him back, putting him in a more relaxed position.

When Pollux opened his eyes, everything was blurry, His body tingled all in the wrong places. As he was slowly coming to, his body started to recognize that something was terrible wrong. He tried to move and could’t. Whenever he moved, the biowires tigtened. He flared up his psionics and...nothing happened. He tried it again and again, screaming until he was hoarse. The lab technicians rushed in and pumped him full of sedatives, sending him into a dream like state once again. 

It took nearly half a sweep for Pollux to heal. During those perigees, he had grown tired and weak. His body dangled weakly, supported by the biowires that kept him in place and siphoned the powers from his body. They squeezed and released, trying to stimulate bloodflow so his limbs wouldn’t die. Since his original install, they had to make major changes to the way his body was hooked up. Due to the drainage system that had been put into his system, his body had a horrible reaction and rejected the surgical implant. They almost lost him. After the changes had been made, he was reinstalled and left to rest for a few nights. Machines embedded into the wires beeped quietly as they reported his vitals to the top of the helmscolumn. Someone stepped into the room, disrupting his sleep.

“Rise and shine, pissblood.” Pollux begrudgingly opened his eyes. There in front o fhim stood a brute of a troll. He had horns that stiwsted up into the air and out to the sides and hair that cascaded downward in thick braids of black hair. The troll had a body like a tank, muscles stretching his tunic over bandaged arms. He wore an indigo sash around his wasist, and looking at the paint on his face in intracate patterns, Pollux knew his new “caretaker” was a subjugglator.

“Oh look you’re awake.” He said. The troll chuckled darkly, slamming his staff into the ground. Pollux focused his attention on the staff. It was made of thick black bone, sharpened to a glistening point. The top curved into a scyth, with the inside cut into a serrated section. There was a spine on the top for stabbing, and below that was a club like surface with raised bumps to beat the life out of someone. The handle was wrapped in a thick cloth, providing a grip for the troll’s massive hands.

“My name is Dvaoni Zdraxi. I am the Enforcer. You are my new toy. To you, I am your fucking master. You obey me and no one else.” His voice rang in Pollux’s ears. His voice was very loud and clear through the audio system that relayed the messages into his ears. 

“If you fail me, if you disobey me...I will beat you.” he said, eyes narrowing. Pollux could see the scars on his face under his paint. “I will send a psi shock through your body so hard you won’t know what hit you.” He took his scythe and pressed it against pollux’s cheek, drawing blood. Pollux didn’t even flinch.

“Such a vile color.” Dvaoni spat, eyes narrowing. “Pissbloods deserve this. Living batteries service the highbloods...it’s all they’re good for. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yeth mathter.” Dvaoni reached out and grabbed his jaw, squeezing it so hard that tears welled up in Pollux’s eyes.

“Don’t you ever. EVER. speak to me like that again. Do not ever speak to me with that vile. VILE lisp. You speak properly or you don’t speak at all! and you better fucking speak!!” he let go of Pollux’s jaw. Pollux made a soft noise.

“Yeth….th...thhh...th--ss….yes….yes math..hh...ths...ss...mas...ter.”

“Much better.”

The next few perigees were painful. With the new modifications and the extreme culling schedule, Pollux’s helmcolumn had to be throughly cleaned everyday. While normally Pollux would complain about having to bathe, hot saline spray on his ports was the best part of his day. Duing the day he was kept down in the underground of the city with the hundreds of other psionics keeping the city going. Pollux truly did have the best seat in the house. As a living battery, he did nothing but hang there, his powers being siphoned by the bioware, which wiggled into his spine deeper and deeper by every moment. The other psionics circled around a large psi siphon that they continuiously shocked as they walked in circles. It was exhausting work. Pollux remembered from the place where he was originally purchased from that it was an exhausting practice. He remembered being told how easy it was to be a helmsman. If you were helmed your life was simple from there on out. It was simple. You could sleep all day and the only thing that nagged in the back of your mind was being able to produce enough psionic energy to power whatever you were in charge of. You could stretch out into the wires and feel the energy pulsing in the machine.

The cullings had become more and more frequent with the influx of the refugees flooding in from nearby lowblood towns. Since the Condesce’s death, the highbloods were rioting and trying to rid villages of lowbloods so they could take up residence. Lowbloods fled from their towns to nearby cities, ruled with highbloods. They could find safety in numbers, hiding in the slums of the cities, taking up jobs such as shop keepers or maids and servants. Highbloods were found nearly everywhere now a days. The lowblood population was dwindling, but it would never be able to be snuffed out. Even with the drones working overtime, trying to trick lowbloods into providing pails, the culling became more and more frequent. Drones left a path of destruction wherever they went.  
Chaos had truly ensued when the revolutions started. Lowbloods would try and rise up, trying to take over the nearest Highblood city, which resulted in mass cullings, and public executions. After two sweeps of Pollux’s capture, there had been a rumor spread that a lowblood with wings was leading the revolution against the highbloods. They said he could be seen flying in the skies of Alternia.

Pollux had grown quite bitter in the last two sweeps, having done nothing but float in an expanse of biowires and power a killing machine. He had laughed at the rumors, his voice having grown deep and soft over the sweeps. His lisp was gone entirely, having trained himself not to use it anymore. The beatings had gotten too frequent, and his ribs broken more times than he could count. He had given up hope of freedom ages ago. As he was adjusted into the helm, he stretched out into the wires, seeking out the source of the camera on the helm. The machine moved on it’s own accord, controlled by someone else. His powers just simply powered the machine, not ran it. They would never give him that sort of control. The metal container he was surrounded in kept him safe from the splatter of blood from the culling, as well as from any attacks that could be made to stop the machine. The soft glow of psionic energy pulsing was all around him. He closed his eyes, plunging himself into the darkness. With his psionics he could see like no other. The camera was easily found. It pointed upwards to the forest. He found he couldn’t move the camera without being detected, so he got used to watching the forest go by, the moons high above in the clouds. Watching the moons and the sky reminded him of something...of someone…

Suddenly he heard shouts from outside the metal guard. The camera’s point of view changed suddenly, and a troll...flew by. Pollux became dizzy for a moment as the helm column shifted as the culling machine turned quickly to follow the form. A request came in for more power, and he forced more power through his system. Fine, he thought, you want 70 percent, you’re getting 69 percent because I don’t care. He made a soft grunting noise as the request was put in again. Pollux rolled his eyes and put in 75 percent because he felt like being generous. 

The camera was trained on the flying troll. He had the biggest horns he had ever seen in his life, next to his master’s of course. But even the Enforcer’s horns were not this large. His wings were outstretched on either side of him, nimbly flying between arrows, and psi shocks. He laughed and flew out of sight, into the darkness.

Pollux watched him with an awestruck expression on his face. The feeling of true freedom surged through his body. He felt a pang of expression in his chest. It filled him, hurting at first, and then warming him. He longed to be free. He longed for the past. 

He longed for Carmine.

Carmine! Memories flooded him. Emotions surged through him rapidly. How could he have forgotten?! How could he have forgotten the freedom that was brought to him on a silver platter in the form of the red blood who so graciously saved him?! He longed to remember the red blood who was so warm...so warm…

Tears filled his eyes. The feeling shook him. The tears filled his mask and slowly leaked out at the bottom. There would be absolutely no way that after nearly two and a half sweeps that Carmine, Rosa, and Dani still remembered him. There was no way that they had survived the cullings in the past two sweeps. Even if they had, there was no way they could have rememberd Pollux. He would be the prophet that was...or never was. The monitors within the biowires began frantically beeping, his vitals going wild. His heart raced the harder he sobbed. His blood pressure surged and the machine beeped rapidly.

The culling machine came to a screeching halt. The technicians hurried off of the machine and ripped the conduit door open. 

“What the hell is going on down there?!” one yelled. The other technician looked at the monitors and then at Pollux.

“He’s crying.”  
“Why the hell is he crying?!?”

“Do I look like I can fucking read minds?! I don’t know! Where’s the Enforcer?”

“He’s up ahead. Want me to send a signal to get him?”

“Yes. Please. Get him to come here and shut his helmsman the fuck up.”

The entire march was halted as The Enforcer himself made his way near the back of the line. Pollux was still sobbing by the time that he had arrived. He was more livid than usual. 

“What the fuck is your problem?!” He screamed, grabbing Pollux’s jaw. He just continued to sob. He punched his shoulder, causing Pollux to cry out in pain. It just made him cry harder.

“Dvaoni. I don’t think it is wise to punch the helmsman. In his state it could do us more harm than good.” One of the technicians stated. He glared at her and sighed. 

“Do we have any auxiliary helmsmen?” He growled.

“We have 14 auxiliary helmsmen in the waiting bay. We would need two or three to run this machine with their power level.” She stated. 

“We’ll finish early tonight. Get him back, clean him up, and install a new helm into the block. Put him into auxiliary until he calms the fuck down.”

They did just that. The entire march turned around, back towards the city. Within a few hours they were back. Pollux had stopped crying, but he was exhausted. The hot saline bath felt better today than it had in a while. He was removed from the culling machine and inserted instead, to another block, where he laid in stasis. The biowires had been removed, which was a fucking blessing. He groaned as he was actually able to feel his back for the first time in what seemed like forever. Whatever material they used in the stasis chamber restricted psionic usage. So there was that. He stretched out, feeling his muscles relax. He knew it wouldn’t last long. He knew he couldn’t run. He knew he was too weak, and the siphons were still restricting his psionic usage, and without proper tools, he’d never be able to get them out. He closed his eyes. It had been a long time since he had truly slept. As he fell asleep in the stasis chamber, he couldn’t hear the chaos that had begun outside.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit a huge writing block with this chapter. I apologize for the time it took to finish this. I hope you enjoy it.

“There was nothing you could have done to fight them off.”

“He’s so stupid!! He should have known better!! He should have listened to us!”

“Carmine...don’t be so hard on yourself. He protected us.” Dani purred, gently rubbing at Carmine’s back. “We will get him back. We have to. We’re not going to leave him there.”

“He knew he couldn’t take those guys!! He knew it! He’s probably got some sort of macho psionic bullshit complex and thought he had to prove himself worthy of being with us. It’s the same thing as before. He’s so stupid!!” Carmine flopped back onto the bed with a grunt. The three of them had taken shelter in a nearby village, who was preparing for that evening’s sermon. 

“Carmine, Pollux can take care of himself. I’m sure of it. He’s strong willed and wont let anything bad come of him.” Rosa assured quietly, “He’s proved it before. Remember when he blasted that culling drone to bits?”

“Yeah and then he was out of it for a few nights. Remember?” Carmine retorted. “Besides, they probably killed him. The enforcer probably has his hands on them now, and he’s probably been beaten to death.”

“No.” Dani said. “They wont kill him. He’s useful.” She scooted closer to him. “they’ll helm him. He’s too valuable to be wasted with death. They’ll helm him or put him in slavery.”

“Helm?” Carmine had heard the term only once before, but Dani seemed rather knowledgeable on the subject. 

“Before I met up with you all, I had heard stories of high ranking yellow bloods being helmed as helmsmen.” Dani began.

“Dani, don’t. You’ll make it worse…” Rosa interrupted.

“Mother, no. I want to know. I want to know what they are going to do.” Carmine said, sitting up. “Tell me.”

“The empress was fond of helmsmen. They run things. Machines, ships, boats, whatever you can imagine. They’re living batteries. They have their powers sucked from their bodies with some sort of weird technology. I’ve seen ex-helmsmen being chained to flogging juts with their powers gone, highbloods beating them because they suddenly went from being good, to useless.”

“Psionics can burn out?” Carmine asked.

“Of course. If the damage to them is too much, their body stops making their psionics. I hear the helmsman of the once great Battleship Condescension was rather used up, but instead of burning out, he just overloaded everything. And that’s why the ship exploded. Helmsman may be pieces of machinery, but they’re living.”

“That’s….horrible!” Carmine shouted. “They can’t do that!! I’m not going to sit back and wait for Pollux to come back! I wont stand for this!!”

“Carmine, stop. We need to think rationally. Right now we all need rest before your sermon. Otherwise you’re going to wear yourself out.” Rosa said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“Mother no. Time is of the essence. We need to think and act as quickly as we can! He is in trouble, and it’s up to us to help him.” He protested, getting up and grabbing his cloak.

“Carmine sit down! We need to rest, please. Calm down.” Rosa said. Dani grabbed him and forced him to sit back down on the bed. “We will get him back, but it will take time. We have to think about this carefully.”

 

Two sweeps later, and a lot had changed. Rosa, Carmine, and Dani had stayed in the little town, helping them get ready. A revolution was about to begin. Highbloods had taken over. With the death of the empress two sweeps ago, Chaos had broken out. Seadwellers fought against land dwellers for trying their hardest become the stronger of the two bloods. Cullings had become far more frequent, with drones roaming the lands freely. Carmine had changed too. He had grown more mature, more rugged. He sported a good bit of hair on his face, as well as his hair becoming more and more coarse. Dani had become far more curvy, and much stronger. Her hair was as wild as ever. Rosa had not changed much. Rainbow drinkers never really changed a lot. The town had changed. It had gone from a tiny lowblood village to a village housing hundreds of lowbloods. There were great underground caverns, carved out by rouge psionics, escaped from slave facilities, that had been destroyed by subjugglators. In the huge caverns, thousands of trolls gathered to hear Carmine’s sermons. 

The sun was about to rise. Trolls gathered in the caverns, donned in thick cloaks with weapons. Carmine stood on a stage overlooking the crowd of lowbloods.

“Under normal circumstances, I would be protesting peace, kindness, and love. The highbloods do not believe in love, harmony, or self sacrifice. Tonight is not a night where I will preach love and peace. Tonight is a night where we must do whatever it takes to get back the lowbloods that we hold dear. Tonight is about rescue. I disdain death. I hate killing, murder. I do believe in self defense. I believe in a world where we do not have to fight for the ones we love, but in this case, it is necessary. We will take the city. We will reclaim our loved ones and return the rule of the city to the revolution!” Cheers rang out over the cavern. 

“We have a great asset to the revolution tonight. I am sure you have all heard rumors of the troll who went against all odds and flew up the ranks of the Calvereapers and became one amongst the Subjugglators. He has other talents. He can speak with animals using his mind. He can communicate with beasts on Alternia and can use them to help us reclaim the city. Tonight is the night that the winged troll Rufioh joins us. Tonight shall be the night that the Highbloods will know that we are not a force to be reckoned with. With Rufioh the city of Karrion will be ours!” 

The cave erupted in cheers. Weapons clashed together in anticipation for the battle ahead. As night ended and dawn came, they draped themselves with cloaks and hoods. Dani grinned at Carmine, attaching her sharp battle claws onto her gloves. Carmine looked a bit apprehensive, picking up his scythe. 

“You and I will stay together.” Dani stated rather firmly. “Rosa will care for the wounded, and I will stay with you. We will find him. I know my way around Karrion. I’ve been there a few times when I was little. It’s going to be a long haul, but just think about it. Karrion is one of the most high tech capitals on Alternia. Aside from the capital, Karrion has so many high tech inventions and revolutionary things. We are making a valid choice. Besides, you haven’t shut up about Pollux for the past two sweeps.” Carmine stammered a response, but Dani cut him off.

“Lets go. The next group is heading out. The moment the gates have been breached, we can start looking.” She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “We will be fine.”

“Dani...I wished this could have been peaceful. To think that there will be so many to die and to be injured tonight pains me. I suppose it’s what we have to do to get them to listen to us. The empire is ruthless, even with the empress gone. The world is in chaos. Somehow we need to bring it into order.” He sighed and shook his head, pulling his hood up.

“Lets go.”

The journey to the city was mostly quiet. Quiet whispering and hushed murmurs were heard throughout the crowd as they headed towards the city. Once the city was in sight, the true test began. The gates had been breached and the first two waves of refugees had pushed their way into the city. Carmine’s eyes widened as they passed into the gate. He raised his weapon. Blood was everywhere. Bodies of highbloods littered the streets as the refugees fueled out their revenge on the highbloods. There were cries and screams. This isn’t what he wanted at all. Dani pulled him out of his thoughts by tugging his arm hard, pulling him towards the center of town.

“Dani this is horrible!” He hissed at her. Highbloods were starting to wake up as dusk overtook the city. All hell broke loose as night fell. The last of the refugees had entered the city, and the fight had truly begun. Dani and Carmine had dodged several attacks, Dani making her first kill protecting Carmine and herself from a rogue teal blood who had tried to attack them. The entrance was found soon enough. There before Carmine and Dani was a huge metal door pressed into the concrete wall. With a little effort, the lock came clean off and the two hurried inside. They barred the door from the inside, keeping whatever was inside in, and whatever was outside out.

The silence was near deafening. Stretched out before them was a long dimly lit hallway that ended in a staircase making its way down into the bowels of the city. Light on their feet, Carmine and Dani hurried towards the stairs, hurrying down them to the bottom. Once they were through the next few sets of doors, they stopped.

The entire hallway smelled faintly of antiseptic. Clean, thought Carmine, so very clean. It was clearly a medical facility. The first few hallways the two explored were nothing but offices and trash removal rooms. Down the first corridor to their left, they were met with a door that simply read “BIOHAZARD” in big, bold, red lettering. Dani glanced at Carmine before the door was pushed open.

For a room that was a biohazard, it was fairly empty. It was a long narrow room with a door off to one side. From the doorway they were in, you couldn’t read the sign. At the end of the room there was a stack of boxes with the biohazard symbol on them. Stamped on the box was also a jumble of letters, like someone had tried to stamp over the same word multiple times to bold it, only instead of bolding the words, the words turned into a jumbled, illegible mess. Carmine hesitated as Dani walked forward. The top most box was cracked open at the top. The room smelled faintly like formaldehyde and saline solution, but the closer Dani got to the box, the stronger the smell became.

“You smell that?” She asked, sniffing the air. “It’s coming from these boxes. It smells like salt and something foul.” She leaned over the box and looked inside. Whatever was inside was wet and glistening in the light of the room. She tilted her head to one side and gasped. Something moved inside the box. She shoved herself back from the box and stumbled into Carmine, who cried out in surprise.

“What is it?” he hissed, rubbing his arm. He glanced at the box, and then glanced at the door. His eyes went wide and he gently nudged Dani.

“Dunno. It stinks, it moves, and it’s gross, slimy, and wet. Not going anywhere near it.” She felt the tug on her arm. “Hm? what is it?” She turned around and looked at the door.

“Morgue.”

“Oh.” Dani furrowed her brows. 

“You don’t think he’s in there, do you?” Carmine’s voice quivered slightly as he spoke.

“No, but there’s only one way to find out really.” she shrugged. 

“I really dont think I can handle that.” Carmine looked hesitant.  
“We need to stick together Carmine. I’m not going to just leave you out here. What if a highblood manages to break down the board on the door? What if there’s highbloods down here? I know you can stand up for yourself, but we are better off alive together than we are dead alone. Besides, if Pollux isn’t in there, and I come out here and you’re dead, I am sure as hell not putting you in that morgue and then everything we did here would have gone to waste.” Dani gently shook Carmine’s shoulders.

“You’re right. Lets just get this over with. There’s more of the facility to explore.”

 

 

Carmine instantly regretted going into the morgue. It looked more like a slaughterhouse than anything else. There were tables with body parts in pickling jars filled with blood. There were giant vats of yellow blood that were being filled by bodies hung upside down and draining. The incinerator burned brightly, and smelled like burning flesh. The only good thing about the morgue at the psionic facility was that Pollux was not in there. Both Dani and Carmine got out of there as quickly as possible. Once they were back in the hallway, Carmine heaved a deep breath, trying to quell his nausea.

“I never hoped to smell that much death. Is that what comes of these people? They work until death and never see the stars of night?” Carmine coughed out.

“Yep. It’s the life of a lowblood. This is one of the largest psionic plants on Alternia. Whenever they run low, they find more.”

"That's horrible. If we free these trolls, I want there never ever to be a place like this again." Carmine said, sighing. He was disgusted with this place. He wanted to find Pollux and leave. 

"Yes. Let's keep moving. There is a room across the hall. We wills check there and then head back down the hall." Dani said, gently tugging his arm. "We need to hurry."

The next few rooms turned out to be nothing but heavy equipment and machinery. They glanced at the machines and looked at the panels on the wall. That couldn't be right, Carmine thought. The panels that were there were very explicitly labeled as solar generators, not ones harnessing psiioniic energy. How strange. In another room down the hallway, the two of them found generators that processed water energy from the waterfall about a night's walk from the city. 

What does this mean? Carmine glanced at Dani. This meant that the city was self sustaining. The panels on the roofs and the power from the river were more than enough to power the city. The psiioniic were not needed at all! Rage filled Carmine. There was no need for the psiioniic power plant at all! No need for countless deaths and slaves that were imprisoned here. 

The next wing made both of them tense. There were six operating rooms, three on either side of the hallway. The whole place was deserted. Glancing into the rooms, everything was sterile and empty. There were diagrams on the walls of psi syphon placement, diagrams of the nervous system of a typical psionic, and a map of the different parts of a psionic’s brain. Fascinating stuff if they weren’t already grossed out by the morgue, all of those dangling bodies and body parts being drained for their blood. Disgusting. 

Dani and Carmine hurried on. There was a double set of doors ahead of them. There was no label on the door, and no windows. Gingerly, they pushed the doors open. Down a flight of steps was a huge open floor. There were hundreds of cages laid out on this floor, each filled with four or five psionics. The air reeked of static electricity. 

“Dani, we have to do something. You find a way to get the psionics out. I’ll look for Pollux.” He said, taking off down the staircase. Dani nodded and headed out. 

Row after row, there was no sign of him. Carmine glanced back and forth across the isles. Each cage was marked with four or five stickers that were color coded with how many psionics were in the cage. He vaguely remembered seeing a chart on the wall with colors indicating the psionic’s level of power. He didn’t remember the colors on the chart, but it didn’t matter. Pollux had to be here somewhere.

“Carmine I found a way to let them out!” Dani cried out, pulling a level at the end of one of the rows, all of the doors opening. “Come on out! We’re busting you out of this place!” Some of the psionics were nervous at first, stepping out cautiously. Others ran out and began pulling levers to let others out. There were thousands of psionics in the facility. They all cried out in joyous freedom. Some weeped tears of joy, while others clung to their friends and wept.

Carmine looked back towards the very back of the facility. 

“Auxiliary and stasis.” He decided to check stasis first. He pushed open the door to stasis.

Inside it was like a completely other world. It was dimly lit with faint pulses of red and blue with occasional beeping. There were pods in the corners of the room. Carmine crept closer to one of them, glancing down into the pod. It was filled with green slime. There was a psionic inside the pod, floating in the slime. Wires poured out of the pod, connecting to all sorts of machinery that beeped and read back vitals. Carmine checked the other pods in hopes of finding Pollux. His heart raced as he approached the last pod in the room.

He gasped softly. Pollux was there. He was there and he was safe. 

The machines beeped softly. Carmine reached into the pod and pulled Pollux up. He pulled him out of the pod and onto the ground outside. The wires came with him. He held Pollux’s head in his lap, pulling off the ventilation mask. He smoothed back his hair, wiping slime out of his face and eyes. 

“What has become of you…” Carmine whispered, his heart heavy. His voice was soft as he spoke to him. 

“I’ve missed you.” He said, running his thumb over his cheek. “It’s been so long.” Eyes slowly fluttered open, his mouth turning to a toothy smirk.

“I’ve missed you too.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prophecy.
> 
> It had been a long time since he had seen that face. Pollux made a motion with his hand, his powers lashing out at the nearest flat object, which happened to be the black window. It was a horrid screeching noise, but it only lasted a minute as Pollux inscribed the words of the prophecy in the glass. Light from the sun filtered in through the etching, making it look ethereal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience with this chapter. 
> 
> I'm honestly really bad at writing poetry, so the prophecy in this chapter is a bit rough around the edges. It's been years since I've written anything in iambic pentameter couplets. 
> 
> As always, please leave me feedback. I love feedback.  
> I also love messages.  
> If you have any questions, my tumblr is solluxbutt.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks! Enjoy!

Karrion was theirs. They had claimed the city. Rufioh had gone off to the sea after the revolution in search of more lowbloods for the cause. The escaped psionics helped rebuild the city to its former glory. About a perigee had passed since the overthrow. Peace had been restored.

The helmsmen in the underground began having their ports removed. It was a fairly simple procedure really. Splicing the skin on either side of the port and gently pulling the siphon from between the vertebrae usually did the trick. There was only a 40% chance of total limb and torso paralysis. Now Pollux on the other hand was a mess. The upper most ports on his spine had to be rigged into his spine on either side of the bone. They were impossible to remove. Instead, they did their best to graft skin over them, successfully closing them off. His lower ports were removed with ease, and the skin stitched up. It took a group of 6 professional helm installers 13 hours to close off the ports. He was put in recovery soon after. His healing process would be a long and painful one.

Carmine visited him nearly every night. He had become busy since the city had gotten back on his feet. The people of Karrion treated him as if he was a prince; their leader. They had gifted his family, Rosa, Dani, Pollux, and himself, the largest house in the city. It was saved only for the most important trolls, and that is who they deemed worthy. Dani had rejected the gift, choosing instead to seclude herself in the bowels of the city, teaching groups of trolls how to hunt and fend for themselves. Carmine knew she preferred caves and dark places anyway as opposed to living in the lap of luxury. Carmine enjoyed every minute of it however, as did Rosa, who spent most of her time dressed in beautiful jade dresses that she made with the gift of beautiful fabric. Carmine was given gifts of luxury in exchange for blessings. He didn’t mind.

The small group was put in charge of running the city, which Carmine was very confused about. There was a group of higher ranking trolls who stepped in to help him by creating a council. All requests would pass through the council, and Carmine would get the final say. It seemed fair. The first order of business was the mass of psionics. He gave them freedom. Many chose to stay, working for the city, protecting the walls and patrolling the streets. They were free to come and go as they wished.

The next six perigees passed painfully slow. Pollux spent most if not all of his time in the infirmary in the middle of the city with the healers, working him through psychical therapy. Learning to walk again was hard. He spent most of his time in a wheelchair, either too exhausted to try walking or too frustrated with his lack of progress. Carmine asked for help from the city council to build a wing onto their home for him to continue his progress. The wing was complete in less than a perigee, and he was moved there to finish the healing process.

Carmine knew he was doing his best. He did. He visited him daily hoping to help inspire him to get better. He also helped with stretching and with walking, whenever Pollux felt up to it.

“Carmine,” Pollux began, stretching out his leg, “I’m not getting any better. I feel the same I did about 3 perigees ago. Why is this so slow?”

“Healing is slow.” Carmine said, gently rotating Pollux’s foot, helping move the tendons and muscles. They were both seated on the floor, giving Pollux plenty of room to stretch out. “You’ve come so far since we’ve rescued you. You’ve done so much and I’m proud of you. You should be proud of you too. A lot of the other psionics haven’t even gotten this far.”

“I feel weak and pathetic.” he said, wincing in discomfort as Carmine stretched out his foot. “I have to use the walking sticks whenever I do anything. I’m bound to that chair. It’s not a good look for me. I used to be much better than this.”

“It’s been almost half a sweep, Pollux.” Carmine said, gently bending Pollux’s leg at the knee, placing his foot flat on the ground. Pollux hissed in pain. 

“Okay okay that hurts, please stop.” He grunted. Carmine gently let go, watching Pollux’s leg flop over to one side. “It’s only been half a sweep, but it feels like it’s been much longer than that.”

“I know, I know.” Carmine said. “Here. stay put.” He moved around behind him, gently putting his hands on his shoulders. “Let me help you at least relax a little.” He rubbed his thumbs in small circles, making Pollux croon and coo as he leaned into the touches.

“Yessss….thank you...It’s really tense right...ah...ye...yeah right there.” He winced as Carmine rubbed the particularly sore spot. 

“You’re so stressed and all knotted up. Haven’t the healers been working with you?” Carmine asked, lessening up on the pressure.

“No. I haven’t let them. They’re more focused on making me walk than getting rid of other little bits of pain.”

“Oh….” Carmine sighed, “I’ll have to have a talk with them then. In all seriousness though, you need to relax. You’re doing just fine. You’re safe, and you have us back. Honestly if I had been through all of that stuff, I would have died. I can’t keep my mouth shut.” Pollux chuckled.

“I didn’t really have a choice. I was brainwashed into all that shit. If i fought back I was punished. It was easier to just go along with it and not get hurt.” He rolled his eyes. “Glory to the empire.” he said in a mocking tone. “Absolute bullshit. The empress has been dead for how long?” Carmine laughed.

“Some people just wont let go of their beliefs, and that’s fine, but when they’re hurting people...they need to stop.” He shook his head and continued rubbing at his neck. “you know, you’re always so quick to anger. It’s amazing they didn’t kill you while you were there. But I guess they needed you huh?” He hummed softly.

“Pollux, you really should let me take care of you. Here. Let me try something.” Carmine shifted a little, placing one hand on Pollux’s shoulder, the other in the middle of his back.

“Just don’t break me.”

“I don’t think I could anyway.” Carmine laughed, gently applying pressure. Pollux’s back popped and he made a surprised noise. Pollux grumbled and sank down some, his psionics fizzling.

“I needed that. I needed that so badly you can’t even imagine.”

“I figured.”

“That needs to happen much more often.” 

“Just say the word and i’ll be here to do it.”

Carmine helped Pollux back onto the bed, sitting down next to him. He patted his shoulder gently.

“You know, I think you’re the only person who has visited me this much.” Pollux muttered. “Rosa came in twice I think, once to see me and twice to give me a gift that her and Dani had put together. A fur blanket from furs that Dani had found and Rosa had assembled. It’s kind of nice that I can expect at least a visit from someone. It’s like you actually care.”

“Both Rosa and Dani care too. I think though that they’re both a bit overwhelmed with what happened. Dani lives in the now abandoned psionic plant, and Rosa lives in the other wing. We’ve separated but we are far from apart. Plus I do care. A lot.”

“It’s kind of nice really,” Pollux said. “It’s almost as if I have a moirail without it actually being offical or anything.”

“Pollux how many times do I have to tell you that quadrants are dumb, outdated, and silly? I just...don’t...do them.” Carmine flushed brightly and huffed.

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s been a while, remember? I’m kinda fried, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah excuses excuses.” Carmine laughed and nudged him. “I know I know. Really. You’re getting better about it. Or you will eventually.” He smiled at him. They sat together in silence for a little while looking out the window. 

“I’ve got some things I need to take care of. I’ll be back later tonight okay?” he said, gently giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Pollux nodded.

“Yep. See you.”

 

Carmine stepped out of the room and sighed. He needed to talk to someone. He needed to get some things off his chest. But who to talk to?

Rosa.

He could always talk to Rosa. She would know what to do. She always knew what to do. He headed to her end of the house. She was in the wing opposite of the infirmary wing. He pushed the door open to her room.

Rosa was laid out in her bathtub which was filled to the brim with bubbles. She glanced up at the doorway, where Carmine was now standing.

“Carmine, Carmine, Carmine. How many times do I have to remind you of your manners? You could have at least knocked? Said hello? Anything?”

“It’s important.”

“It’s important.” She repeated. “Okay, well spill it. Is the city in danger or is it something more personal? Something more close to home?”

“The city is fine, it’s nothing about that. It’s about me...and it’s something personal.” Carmine said, sitting down next to the tub.

“Oh.” She grinned a wicked grin as it dawned on her, “Let me take a wild guess.”

“Rosa…” Carmine warned.

“This is about a certain...romantic interest.”

“Rosa.”

“You’ve got a slight…..”

“Mother.”

“Fascination…”

“Mother don’t.”

“Obsession….issue….problem…”

“Mother don’t you dare.”

“With a certain...psionic named Pollux who is currently holed up in the other end of this house and is painfully unobservant about your romantic feelings for him. Am I right?” Carmine groaned.

“Of course you are.” He grumbled, slumping over as if he was defeated. “As always. Please don’t tease me about this.”

“Oh but of course I have to.” she said in response. “But i’ll be nice about it.” She smiled at him and shifted in the tub.

“He thinks of me as a moirail...kind of. I have no “pale” affliction for him.” He made air quotes over the word pale, rolling his eyes. “I hate quadrants.”

“I know you do, but he’s right. Your version of romance is very much mixed in with friendship. He’s not entirely wrong.” Rosa hummed. “I know it’s hard, but you have to be patient with him. He’s not like you.”

“I know that. Really. He’s just...dense.”

“Yeah. And? You’ve been pretty dense lately too.” She chuckled. “He’s healing. He’s still getting used to things again. He’s not “wired” for these sorts of things. Sorry about the helmsman pun, but you may just have to be painfully blunt with him.”

“So….blunt...what do you want me to do? Walk in there and just gush over how much I love, hate, and despise his stupid lack of ass? His stupid cute face? His absolutely pitiful disposition?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Carmine grumbled in frustration. Rosa laughed. “I’m horrible at this! I’m going to go in there, make a fool of myself, and he’s never going to talk to me again.”

“Carmine you’re being dramatic again. If you’re really concerned about it, leave subtle hints. Drop a note here and there, leave small gifts. He’ll catch on eventually. Stop being dramatic.” she said, flicking water at him. 

“Eventually. I’ll probably just march back over there tonight and talk to him. Who knows? Maybe it will give him some hope of recovery. He’s been so gloomy lately. He has no hope.”

“Talk to him about doing prophecies again. That’s something he hasn’t done in a while. Maybe that will cheer him up?” Rosa smiled, slipping further into the tub.

“Good idea. Thank you Rosa.” he said, getting up. “If this doesn’t work I’m blaming you.”

“I figured as much. Good luck.” She grinned.

 

Carmine left the room, putting a hand through his hair. This was going to be difficult. He paced around the hallway for a few minutes. This was too much. He’ll just have to do it. The worst thing he could is say no, right?

The moon was setting. It was now or never. He headed back over to that end of the house, gently knocking on his door.

“Come in.” 

Carmine gently pressed the door open. Pollux was sitting on the bed, a blanket draped around his shoulders. He was looking out the window, watching the moon set. Carmine felt his heart flutter as he watched him. Time had been good to Pollux. The light coming in the window from the slowly rising sun, and the setting moon was enough to illuminate the raised scars on his face and neck. His mouth was open just slightly, his took snagged on his lip. Despite the scars around his eyes, jaw, and lips, he was very handsome. His nose had become sharp and bird like, his jaw had narrowed. His cheekbones had become high and pronounced. His shaggy black hair cowled his sharp features with a mop of hair that desperately needed a cut. His horns were probably the only thing that had been taken care of while he was in captivity, arching gracefully over his head. Carmine placed his hand on his chest and smiled. 

Pollux glanced back at him in the doorway.

“Are you going to stand there and gawk at me or are you going to come in and shut the door?” Pollux smirked. Carmine blushed furiously and hurried in, shutting the door behind him. 

“I didn’t think you had heard me come in. Plus you looked so tranquil. I didn’t want to ruin the moment.” Carmine said, slipping his shoes off and climbing onto the bed with him. 

“I can hear really well.” Pollux mused, opening the blanket for him. Carmine climbed inside, letting the blanket drop over his shoulders. Together they sat in silence watching the moon sink below the horizon. The sun began to rise higher and higher. The windows automatically darkened to solid black as the sun rose higher in the sky.

“You know what I miss?” Pollux started, looking over at Carmine, “Traveling. I miss traveling. Sure, it was dangerous. Sure there was that time I nearly blew my head off trying to protect you all, but it was exciting. I never got to travel before, so that was neat. When do we get to do that again?”

“Well we want to make sure that you’re healed first. The last thing we want is you falling apart on the road.” Carmine said. “And before you say anything snarky, I know you’re upset it’s taking so long.”

“It is though.” Pollux retorted. “I’m upset with my lack of progress.”

“You’ve made incredible leaps and bounds over the other helmsmen. From what I've seen and heard, some of the other psionics can’t even walk, let alone stand. You’re not invincible Pollux. It’s going to take time. It would be the same thing if something happened to me.”

“Gods forbid that something does.” Pollux said, his fingers brushing against Carmine’s leg, “But what about your sermons? Do you still do those? Does Dani still record them?”

“Dani still records them.” he said. “It’s been a little while since I’ve had a sermon. Dani has been busy with the hunting groups. I really wanted to wait until you were better before I had another sermon. I wanted you to be there.”

“Wow...that...actually means a lot to me. Thank you.” He smiled. 

“The city has really taken well to this. They treat us like royalty. The last time I had a sermon...there were almost two thousand trolls there. They sang for me...they sang a song in praise for me...for saving them.” He gently took Pollux’s hand in his own. “It was a shame you had to miss it. It was really incredible. I’m sure that next time it will be double that many people.”

“I hope to be there for it.”

“You will be.”

“If I ever get out of here.” Pollux shook his head. Carmine gently squeezed his hand.

“You really have no hope left do you? Pollux...it’s really sad seeing you like this. It hurts me. I know it’s hard for you, and it’s honestly troubling for me too. I miss seeing you happy. Do you remember the cave? Do you remember going swimming with me in the cave?”

“Yeah...I remember.”

“I don’t think I've seen you that happy since. That’s the last happy memory I have of you, and I really want to make more.” He paused for a moment, letting the air clear, “Pollux can I tell you something really important?”

“Sure.” Pollux shifted a little, looking at him. Carmine cleared his throat.

“Every single day that you were gone, including the day that you had gotten taken, I always had you on my mind. Every day.” Carmine gently rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of Pollux’s hand, “I had dreams that we would be reunited one day. That I’d come and rescue you, that we would be together again at last. And here we are. It was a long time that we were apart, but it made me realize something. It made me realize that I really care for you. Rosa teases me endlessly, but even from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew.” 

“Knew what?” Pollux asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Carmine laughed.

“You know, Rosa was right. You really are dense.”

“W-what? I...I’m not…”

“Pollux I like you. A lot. In that way that means flushed to you. I hate that word, and you know it, but I’m very flushed for you.” Pollux made a soft noise that sounded like air being sucked in through a tube.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Carmine looked up at him with this look of disbelief on his face. “Oh? You can’t tell me you didn’t know, or had some idea.”

“No i mean...well. I kind of did...now that I think about it, it does make more sense.” Pollux said, gently squeezing Carmine’s hand.

“I have waited two sweeps to say that, so I’m kind of hoping for some sort of response from you.” Carmine muttered.

“I’ve thought about it.” Pollux replied. “The whole situation between you and I. I just always assumed you and Dani…” Carmine let out a bark of laughter.

“Me and Dani?? Really? That is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard all night. No of course not. She and I are close, but not like that. No.”

“Not even when I was…”

“No.”

“Well that’s a relief.” Pollux sighed. “I was almost positive that if for some reason I had been rescued that you two would have declared your love for one another already. I’m glad to know I at least still have a chance.”

“Pollux you have always had a chance. I just can’t believe you waited until now, after I spilled my guts to you and had to go talk to mother about this.”

“So that’s where you went.” Pollux grinned. “I had a feeling it was something like that after you exploded at me for assuming you were pale for me. I know know that it’s a bit darker.”

“I hate you sometimes.” Carmine said. When had he gotten so close to him? He could see the finer details of Pollux’s expression. His pupil-less eyes boring into him. 

“Oh so are you waxing black for me now?” Pollux laughed.

“Just shut up.” 

Carmine still wasn’t sure how it happened, or when, or who started it, but he found his lips pressed firmly against Pollux’s. It was warm, and tingled faintly of electricity. Carmine sighed and let the kiss deepen, arms embracing each other. Tongues brushed against lips, mouths parted, breath danced against skin. Suddenly, it stopped. Carmine opened his eyes, looking at Pollux, who’s face was frozen in concentration, eyes seemingly glazed over. 

A prophecy.

It had been a long time since he had seen that face. Pollux made a motion with his hand, his powers lashing out at the nearest flat object, which happened to be the black window. It was a horrid screeching noise, but it only lasted a minute as Pollux inscribed the words of the prophecy in the glass. Light from the sun filtered in through the etching, making it look ethereal. Once it was done, Pollux’s hands shook. He shook his head and made a groaning noise. 

“That has to be one of the longest visions I’ve had.” he said, glancing up at the window. Carmine’s face was still flushed from their brief moment of intimacy. 

“What’s it say? Your handwriting is a little difficult to read in that glass.” Carmine said, squinting at it. Pollux cleared his throat.

“The prophecy as states is this:  
A new king is in our midst.  
With blood the word hath never seen,  
For he was wise and very keen.  
He’ll rule the word with gentle hands.  
His voice will spread across the lands.  
For rule he was not suited for  
He’ll do his best down to his core.  
With doom and knight and sylph and heart,  
Blessed the group that never parts.  
For doom hath yet been rendered blind,  
For heart can free ye from a bind.  
The sylph is kind with mother’s heart,  
The knight must learn to do his part.  
The winds of change are upon us all.”

“Wow.” Carmine mulled the words over in his head, whispering them again softly. “A new king...a new gentle king with blood the world has never seen. It’s vague.”

“Most of the time they are. I can’t decipher it for you.” he said. “Because once the prophecy is out, it’s out.” he said. “But it’s yours.”

“The last bit doesn’t make a bit of sense to me at all.” Carmine said, scratching his head. “I mean, I'm sure it will eventually, but right now I am baffled.” He got off the bed, finding some paper and a writing utensil. He scribbled down the words, having Pollux clarify some of them. “That is so strange. Tomorrow night we need to get all of us in here. I think our path has been laid out before us.” Carmine beamed, looking at Pollux. “Thank you.” Pollux grinned in response.

“I didn’t even do anything.” Pollux said. “Not anything special.”

“You did something very special. Something very special for me tonight.” he said. “And for that, I am thanking you.” Pollux smiled at him, letting out a happy sigh when Carmine’s lips pressed against his for the second time that night. He had never been happier.


	19. Chapter 19

“A prophecy.”

“Yes.”

“I see…”

The etched window had become quite the spectical. The etching was only visible in the day when the sunlight filtered through the etched glass. 

“It’s kind of vague.” 

Pollux huffed.

“You know, all good prophecies are vague. I think that’s pretty damn good.”

“Then what does it mean?”

“I can’t be the one to decipher it. It’s not for me.”

“Agh!! You are so infurriating!!” Dani slammed her hands down on the table, making nearly everyone in the small room jump a few inches out of their chair.

“Dani,” Rrosa glared at her, “Control yourself.”

“I’m trying to, but Pawlux over here is being incredibly infurriating as usual.” She shot a glare at him. He just stuck out his tongue instead.

 

“If you’d stop being a wriggler, I’d tell you where we can go to see the prophecy.” Pollux muttered, shrugging his shoulders some.

“And where would that be?” Carmine asked, leaning forward onto his hands.

 

“We’d have to go back to where I was raised at the training facility. There’s an oracle stone in the basement where I spent my time. It takes the visions and puts them into a form that can be deciphered more easily. It’s a tool used by young prophets to decipher their first prophecies.”

“It’s not a bad idea.” Carmine started, “It would require traveling though. When we were scoping out the underground, there are armored vehicles that highbloods use to travel across the land. We could use those and go back to the facility.”

“True, but the quickest way to the facility is to cross the bay.” Pollux commented.

“Oh yuck…” Dani hissed.

“We would go to Port Town, where we first met Pollux, and then cross the bay from there.” Rosa said. “It would be easiest. There’s a town directly across the bay that receives transports. We had sermons there, I'm sure they’d accommodate us.”

“It’s possible,” Carmine sighed, “But Port Town was nearly destroyed by drones. We barely got out, who knows if it’s ready to go yet...also Pollux really isn’t in any condition to travel. He still has to use his walking aids to get to the load gaper.” Pollux groaned and rolled his eyes, if that was even possible with no pupils.

“I can handle myself. Besides, I have to go there to decipher the message anyway. If I can survive being helmed then I can survive riding in a vehicle.” He spat.

“That’s true. But who is to say what we’ll meet at the facility?” Rosa said. “We need to be able to protect ourselves.”

“Leave that to me.” Dani said, “I’ll take whoever I need to out.”

After a bit more debating, they decided on their finalized plans to travel. They packed up one of the largest vehicles with supplies that they would need, including extra fuel and food along with some weapons just in case. Rosa was the only one who could operate the machine. There were two seats up front in the cab. Dani hopped in alongside her, putting her feet up. Carmine and Pollux sat in the back with the supplies, hidden from view. 

The distance from Karrion to Port Town was roughly 87 leagues. At a safe speed, it would take almost 2 days to get there. They decided the best way to go was to travel during the day. The roads were not traveled during the day, and it would be safest. Dani put on her protective clothing and got in as Rosa started up the vehicle. 

The eight wheel vehicle roared to life. Pollux and Carmine leaned against one another in the back. The walking aids jostled about as they headed out.

“Are you nervous?” Carmine asked, gently shifting so Pollux could lay against him a bit easier.

“A little bit. It’s been a long time since I’ve been at the complex. I’m more worried about getting on a boat.” He shifted, laying his head against him. Carmine wrapped his arm around him, holding him close.

“We’ll worry about that when we get there. Get some rest.” he kissed the top of his head.

The journey went off without a problem. They arrived in Port Town, quickly got a boat that would carry their vehicle to the other side. In the fishing village across the bay they unloaded the truck and headed for the facility. Pollux had been moved up front, draped in a heavy cloak to keep him safe from the sun.

“It should be about another 10 leagues away.” he said, holding the map. It didn’t take long to arrive. Pollux pointed to a small building half buried in the sand. “There. That’s it.”

They parked nearby. Carmine brought out the walking aids, and they made their way to the building. 

“You’d think there’d be some security around here.” Dani said, looking around. Carmine walked closer to the building.

“I don’t think so.” he said, peering inside. “The place is abandoned.”

“What?” Pollux made his way over carefully, stopping in the doorway. “No way…”

“How do we get in?” Dani asked, strapping her claws to her hands.

“Keypad is broken.” Pollux said, nudging the door open with a gentle push. They made their way down the ramp into the facility. At the bottom of the ramp there were several torches. Pollux guessed they had been used to light the way when the power went out. With a spark of psionics, Pollux was able to light two of them, both Carmine and Rosa taking them. 

The light faintly illuminated the main floor. Down the ramp in the center of the floor was the medical bay, nursery, and training rooms. They pushed onward, heading deeper into the facility.

“I wonder what happened here…” Carmine said, looking at some of the posters on the wall.

“Drones must have gotten in. There was one time where one attacked the facility when I was here.” He pointed to a hole in the wall above the posters.

“These posters are awful too…” Dani said, “They’re essentially propaganda for the Condesce’s regime.”

“Exactly. To a psionic, it’s better to be an engine for a ship than a slave.” Pollux said. “Lets keep going. I don’t want to be in here any longer than I have to. There’s another long ramp that goes off to the left. It’s down there.”

The further they went into the facility the more dust there was that had gathered on various things around them.

“This has to be at least a sweep’s worth of dust.” Rosa commented, looking around. As they made their way down the ramp, Pollux needed some assistance with getting down the ramp. Dani and Carmine helped him. They pushed open the great doors and headed inside. 

“This is the main chamber. There’s torches that can be lit….” he pointed to them around the room. They quickly lit the torches. “The stone is in here.” He pointed, heading to a side room. Once inside, they lit torches around the center. 

The room was small. There were bookcases around the edges of the room filled with various dusty books. In the center of the room there was an indentation in the floor. There were raised half-circles made from obsidian and grooves filled with smooth marble with small flecks of gold. Pollux sat on the edge, putting his feet down in the basin. Carmine, Dani, and Rosa settled around the edge of the circle, watching and waiting. Pollux tried his best to recall the vision he had seen. His psionics sparked to life out over the oracle stone. The energy welled up filling the stone with a bubble of sparks and light. Without warning, it popped and out came a hideous hissing noise. The energy wooshed past everyone, blowing out all of the torches leaving the room in pitch black silence.

“Whoops….” Pollux muttered. 

“Are you absolutely sure you know what you’re doing?!” Dani growled at him, “Why I outta…”

“Dani, stop.” Rosa barked, “Give it time.”

Pollux took a deep breath and tried it again. The ball of energy welled up and instead of popping, it slowly opened like a flower of purple light. Images began to flash in the light. A coronation, a symbol of shackles, words shouted, angry people, an uprising, capture, release, a familiar face, and then darkness. There were brief flashes of light that illuminated figures and then faded.

“That’s it?” Dani asked. 

“That’s it.” Pollux nodded. “The prophetic visions decipher it, and I etch the words. That’s all there is to it. The vision is not for me. It’s for Carmine.”

“He’s right.” Carmine said, stepping into the circle. “Obviously we have to figure out what it means.”

“Think of the words.” Rosa said, “Dani, give me your journal.” Dani was confused at first but handed it to her. “A new king is in our midst with blood the word hath never seen. That would be the bright red that Carmine has isn’t it? He’s the only one of his kind that I’ve seen when I was working in the caverns. A new king...the Empress is dead and has been for many sweeps. No one has taken her spot on the throne.”

“That’s true.” Dani said, frowning a bit. “So are you implying that Carmine is meant to take the throne?”

“It’s entirely possible.” Rosa said. She pulled a map out of her bag, laying it flat on the ground. “We would have to travel to the Capital.” she put her finger on the map.

“That’s nearly 170 leagues from here...and that’s going through the brooding caverns and getting really close to where the drones are dispatched from. The other way is to go back to Karrion and cut across the sea from Cairn to Ithas, but it’s about twice the distance that way.” Rosa sighed. “Either way, we can’t stay here. We need to go back to Karrion to get more supplies...and more people. We can’t just walk right into the capital.”

“I’m sure we can rally support.” Carmine said, smiling. “It’s a long shot, but when has a prophecy ever been wrong?”

“I’ve never had a false prophecy, but this one was strange. The voices were different. The words were strange, and it was dark. Everything was dark. Doom hath yet been rendered blind, heart free from bind, sylph, a mother, and a knight doing his part...it’s strange.” Pollux muttered, shifting a bit from the circle.

“Rendered blind is kind of ominous, don’t you think?” Dani said, “The part about the sylph mother is obviously Rosa.”

“The knight is me, I’ve dreamed about it.” Carmine chimed in.

“Blind doom is me, and Dani has to be heart because that’s all that’s left. I dont know what it means, but it could be physically or metaphorically…we don’t know.”

“What...that’s awful.” Carmine said. He gently squeezed Pollux’s hand.

“We’ll discuss it more once we’re back. Let’s head out. We need to get back to Karrion.” 

The trip back was uneventful. Pollux slept most of the way back after having developed a migraine shortly after they left. There were able to get some sopor for him in the fishing village. They camped out in a cave at the end of day one, wanting to rest up before the second lap of the trip. Dani came back with a fresh kill, and Carmine prepared a hearty meal for the four of them. 

“Here you go, Pollux.” Carmine said, handing him a bowl. He was silent as he ate, quietly pondering. He got up a few hours later and hobbled a bit further into the cave. He was getting along fairly well without the walking aids. He sat on the edge of a cave pool, filled with small glowing fish. He slipped his shoes off, dipping his feet into the cool water. He sighed softly.

Blind.

The images from the visions went through his ind again. He had never seen himself as part of a vision. He had never been part of one. This one obviously took place through his eyes, but what did it mean? But blind? Why now? He was safe for the first time in his life. He was wanted, desired, needed. Why did he have to go blind? Pollux was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear someone coming up behind him until a hand was placed on his shoulder gently. He gasped and turned around, psionics flaring up.

“Hey.” Carmine smiled at him, “Did I interrupt your thoughts?” He asked. He had that scrunched up concerned look on his face that he always has when he looks at Pollux.

“No...I...I just…”

“Hey…” Carmine sat down next to him, putting an arm around Pollux’s waist. “What’s on your mind?”

“Many things,” Pollux whispered, wanting to keep his voice as quiet as possible. “The prophecy, my imminent blindness...us…”

“Are you scared?” Carmine asked, gently rubbing circles into his hip with his thumb.

“Terrified.” He said, leaning against him.

“If that’s is truly about us, then we have a very long road ahead of us before that happens.” Carmine said, gently rubbing his side, “Besides, it would be an adventure.” Pollux was unsure of where the sudden burst of emotions came from, but he felt hot tears starting down his cheeks.

“I’m terrified that I will forget what you look like.”

Carmine was quiet for a long time. He shifted, gently moving to cup Pollux’s face in his hands.

“Then I will make it a priority hat we are never, ever separated. Ever. So even if you do go blind, you will have the image of my face and features burned into your head.” He smiled at him and gently wiped his tears away with a thumb. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around Pollux. Their lips met and tears disappeared. Even as they broke the kiss, they stayed in their embrace.

“I love you.” Carmine whispered. “Always.”

“I love you too.”

“Good. We’ve got a long night tomorrow. Then we will be back in Karrion and we can set up for this adventure. Plus we can rally support to come with us. We will be fine.” He kissed Pollux again, hugging him tightly.

“Lets head back.” Pollux said, quietly. They both headed back together, hand in hand to their sleeping area. Carmine had pulled the sleeping bags closer to the fire. Dani and Rosa were already fast asleep. Carmine lied down, patting the spot next to him. Pollux smiled sheepishly and sat down, curling up with Carmine. He slept quietly, and for the first time he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops sorry that took so long. I had it all written out, but forgot to actually post it. Here you go.


End file.
